Against All Odds
by eternal rose 45
Summary: After Rhett leaves, Scarlett has a terrible accident causing her to lose almost all memory from her past. Can Scarlett remember the love she once had or will all be lost forever?
1. Frankly My Dear

**Against All Odds**

**Chapter One**

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." Rhett said coldly, his eyes held only anger, which was uncommon for a usually jovial man. Placing his hat on his head and grabbing his coat from the hat stand next to the large aperture, his wearisome steps frightening Scarlett.

Scarlett stood in front of the large grand staircase draped in putrid velvet, which, she now seemed to despise, unbelieving. The man she so loved was walking out of her life? Forever? _He can't be leaving me! No, he can't be!_

Her cat-like emerald eyes held terror. How would she get on without Rhett? Finally, finally after years of searching, nightmares, after everything, she had found what she needed most in the world, but had been to thick to witness it, love and protection.

Rhett bent down and grabbed his suitcase in his large left hand and draping his long coat over his arm. He refused to look back. He wouldn't see the hurt in Scarlett's eyes. He headed silently for the door. Too much damage has been done already, why risk saying anymore.

"Rhett, no!" Scarlett begged, running after him her incredibly pale cheeks wet with hot tears. "Rhett, please wait!"

He whirled around hurt and rage in his blazing jet-black eyes, "Do you like getting hurt, Scarlett?" he began shouting. "How do you like the feeling of being unwanted? It doesn't suite the southern bell now does it? I don't wish to hurt you anymore, Scarlett. Don't make me repeat it. You and I both know that this will never work out. Not again. Damage has torn the foundation of out marriage. Your playing with fire, my pet, and I for one, do no wish to be burnt!"

He again started for the door, Scarlett frozen in place, her heart shattering in her breast. She couldn't move for the new blow of his hatred was too much.

When she recovered from her lapse, she bolted toward the door, but he was gone. She looked down the foggy sidewalk, seeing nothing but his fain outline. "Rhett!"

She began to run down the alley, screaming his name, her corset stays tugging at her ferociously. Her thick brown hair flying behind her as tears poured from her eyes. "Rhett!"

He was gone. She couldn't catch up.

She could no longer see his tall, proud outline. She was engulfed in the smog, sobbing, her heart giving way as she continued to cry out. She sank to her knees, no longer caring if she made a spectacle of herself in front of the old cats of Atlanta. Mrs. Elsing and Mrs. Merriwether could do whatever they wished to kill whatever reputation she had left, for she really didn't pay head at the moment.

Scarlett wrapped her arms around herself as she sobbed harder on the cold street of Atlanta. She'd lost everything. Bonnie- the only child she ever loved, Melanie- the tiny creature she admired for so long without knowing it, and Rhett- the person she loved more than life itself.

She dug her long nails into her chest, trying to convert the excruciating pain from her eternally wounded heart anywhere else in her body.

"Rhett my dear, I need you." She moaned to herself as someone passed her on the sidewalk, staring and ushering his or her child quickly from 'the crazy woman'.

After a few minutes, she picked herself up and slowly, dejectedly, walked herself to her house on Peachtree Street. All the maids and servants rushed to her, anger filled her veins.

"Damn it! Can't you all leave me alone?" she screamed, running up the large expanse of stairs, "I need to be alone!" she collapsed onto her bed,sobbing her lost life into her soft, feathery pillow.

**A/N- I'm back! I know, a long time to gather plot ideas, but I've been working on another fic as well. Please give feedback!**


	2. Alone

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Ms. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _

**Chapter Two**

Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler was alone.

For once in her life she was actually alone…and she didn't like it. Usually Ella Lorena or Wade Hampton's eyes pleaded for attention, but they were at Tara.

Tara.

Oh how the wounded, dejected soul longed to visit the replenishing land in which her father so lovingly tended, that always restored her reason for living.

How she longed to vacation, but she couldn't. She couldn't put up with the gloating Suellen, full of herself and bragging how she had such a loving husband and two 'lovely' children, while Scarlett, the Southern Belle, married thrice, had been left to a large house and a broken heart.

Scarlett clenched her eyes closed, not willing to accept that any of this was true. Not willing to accept the heartbreak she'd only begun to experience only moments before.

She, still wearing the emerald hoop skirt from the pervious day, rolled herself from atop her comforter, where she had cried herself to sleep. Her tears seemed to be caked into her frail face, as they always did.

_Maybe, maybe it was all a dream_. A bubble of hope formed inside her frail, aching body.

Gathering her skirts, she ran to the other side of the house to certify this was all just a dream. She was positive it was. It had to be; Rhett loved her just like Melanie had said. _It has to be a dream, it…it just has to be._

"Rhett! Rhett dear!" Scarlett cried out into the darkness of the forlorn room, knowing that no matter how much she expected him to be there, in the large room with sparse furniture, he would not.

The cry Scarlett thought would not come inevitably did, and this time harder and longer than naturally expected.

She dragged her petite feet to Rhett's double bed and collapsed on it. Taking a pillow in her arms, she sobbed into it. Breath would not come, and at some point, she didn't want it to. She wanted to die because she had nothing left to live for. Familiarity had gone astray and all she wanted were the loving arms of husband that would never come.

For what seemed like hours, she cried out his name in dark solitude, taking gasping breaths and clinging to the pillow that still held his scent, before Prissy meekly asked if Scarlett wanted breakfast.

"No." She cried, moaning, tossing and turning, "Just let me die here, all alone! Let me die, Prissy! Just let me die the scared girl I always was, for she is slipping away as we speak."

Hearing these words coming out of the mouth of such a together person frightened her to near death. Her eyes widened as she rushed from Mister Rhett's old bedroom to do any chore she could possibly find to occupy herself.

_Melanie was wrong! _Scarlett's mind sobbed, _Melanie said Rhett loved me so. He doesn't love me! He doesn't and never will! What have I done?_

After hours of weeping, she finally was able to push herself up and drag herself down the large staircase and devour her now cold and stale breakfast and swallow a decanter of brandy.

While drinking the yellowish bitter liquid, Scarlett promised herself that once Melanie's funeral was over, she would go to Tara, and after that she didn't know, but she had to get away. She had to leave this hellhole of a town. She had to block the image of the debonair Rhett Butler from entering her mind, for she would go crazy if it did.

Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler was determined to move on, but thinking it was much easier than doing it, so she would soon learn.

**A/N- I hope you liked this chapter! Please give feedback!**


	3. Melanie’s Funeral

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Ms. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind._

**Chapter 3**

It was pouring rain the day of Melanie's funeral, and it seemed only fit.

Scarlett stood alone beneath an umbrella destined for two, her heart shattered that the one person that was supposed to be sharing the umbrella and comforting her was gone. She shivered as an icy chill ran down her spine and tears coursed down her pale face.

Vaguely, she could hear what the priest was aphorizing, but it wasn't processing through her mind. She swayed on her boot-encased feet, wanting to wake up from this nightmare.

Scarlett's shoulders were shaking violently as she cried for the late Melanie who she secretly looked up to day after day, but was too dense to realize it. Melly had done so much for her. When Scarlett became the center of gossip at any party, Melly would stick up for her and if the gossip continued, she would leave. Melanie paraded Scarlett around everywhere with the love me, love my dog look and Scarlett couldn't have been more appreciative.

The shovel was picked up and Scarlett knew that in moments she and every one of the mourners were going to hear the hollow sound of soil hitting coffin.

She glanced quickly at Ashley and realized he was paying no heed to the sobbing child clutching to the broken man's leg. The sound would scar the poor child for life if he didn't do anything to cover the sound, just like it had scared her the first time.

When she realized he was only staring blankly into space, tears pouring down his worn features and paid nix consideration to the screams hurled at him to cover the child's ears, Scarlett pounded and grabbed the child in her arms, placing her hands tightly on the child's ears. She had promised Melly she would look after Beauguard and Ashley, and this was the best she could do for now.

Beau sobbed onto Scarlett's shoulder, and she tried the best she could to comfort the boy, but it was difficult when she wanted to sob like the child for all that was lost.

Scarlett could feel eyes bearing into her back, but paid no regard for she knew it was probably Mrs. Merriwether or Mrs. Elsing gossiping and questioning where Rhett was, and she didn't have the strength the take the hearsay at the time.

Scarlett wept harder as the last bit of soil covered the grave and the tombstone was laid on the mound. She set Beau down on the ground and he ran to his father who was still in his daze, and now, so was she.

As the mourners turned to leave, weeping and leaning on each other for support, she walked silently to the grave and knelt before it.

**Here Lies Melanie Wilkes,**

**Beloved Mother, Wife, and Friend**

**May You Find Eternal Rest With The Lord.**

Scarlett covered her mouth with her hands, her umbrella long forgotten, and cried. She cried and cried until she though no tears would come.

Silently Scarlett prayed a prayer for her only friend, and stood to go. She soon realized she was not the only one left. Ashley was being led out by India and Aunt Pitty Pat, Beau in India's arms. The Meads and Calverts were walking slowly away and then here eyes caught those that she hated and wanted to see all at the same time.

Rhett Butler was staring at her soaked through self, his eyes never loosing contact with hers, but oh, how it hurt to stare into those emerald eyes. They were rimmed with red and swollen, like her face, and her eyes held anguish and hatred, all held in his esteem.

Scarlett slicked back her hair that had plastered themselves to her face. She silently picked up the umbrella, which inevitably was Rhett's and strode over to him. "Here," she said shoving the umbrella into his stomach causing his muscles to contract a bit, "you forgot this."

Not another word was spoken between them for she bolted, head in hands, to her carriage, which would take her far, far away to the fairytale land of Tara.


	4. Ride of Emotion

**A/N- Yea, I've read Scarlett and I didn't prefer it. I took that analogy of the heavens and earth mourning from her book, so I have gone back and removed it. I just noticed that a little while ago. I needed some backround from the novel but from here on in the story is mine.**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Ms. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some backround from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Four**

The train ride to Tara was just painfully awful, but Scarlett wasn't paying attention. That was the least of her worries at the time. All she cared about was getting to Tara and seeing her children.

When the wheels to the train began to slow, Scarlett jumped up and clutched to a baggage rack in her sectioned compartment. Slowly, oh, ever so slowly, the train came to an ear splitting stop. It was as if time itself had been purposely tourtuing her, wanted t see her have another breakdown.

Not many people were boarded for it had been the evening train, but it was superior in her opinion for you weren't getting barreled over by hundreds of people in a frenzy.

Trudging through the residue of mud, clinging to her feet, she made her way slowly to Will Benteen, her sister Suellen's husband. He could see the torment in her eyes, but kept to his business and did not question.

She managed a forced weary smile and hopped into the carriage, staring straight ahead, not making conversation like the talkative Scarlett used too.

"How have you been Scarlett, dear?" Will asked, picking up the horses reigns and giving a quick snap of the wrists, a hint of concern in his unfathomable baritone voice.

"Fine."

He turned to her and realized she was not composed as she usually was but instead slumped forward slightly, wringing her petite hands together as if she were thinking of something troubling.

"How is your husband? Rhett is his name?" Will questioned, wanting to desperately know what was troubling his sister- in-law.

"Fine I suppose." Will could hear a hint of masked sadness.

It was as if the once exuberant Scarlett O'Hara had been programmed to give one-word answers to every question asked. It troubled Will, for he had never seen anyone behave in this manner before.

"Where is your husband on this dismal day?" Will attempted to make a joke, but failed miserably.

Scarlett halted wringing her hands and looked down at her muddy feet and ruined hemline, caked with mud to her ankles before whispering an almost inaudible, "I do not know where he is."

"I don't understand Scarlett," Will began "how do you not know where…"

Scarlett smacked her fists into her lap, "I don't know where he is!" With that she had an emotional breakdown, turning and weeping onto Will's shoulder. Will pulled the carriage near the side of the dirt road and held Scarlett in a brotherly embrace.

"What's wrong? Scarlett what happened?"

"He left me a week ago." She sobbed, "He said he didn't love me anymore, and without Bonnie we had nothing. Oh, it was such a slap in the face for just moments before I poured out all my feelings for him. I love him!" She began gasping for breath, sniveling uncontrollably.

"Don't worry, sister, Suellen and I…"

"No!" Scarlett shot upward, emerald eyes wide, "Don't you dare tell Suellen! She'll rub it in my face and you know it. That little brat will do anything to put me in my 'right place'!"

"What do you want me to do Scarlett, she's my wife."

"I want you to tell her that Rhett is away on business and I came to get my children." She stated, "I only want to stay for a few days. Please Will, do me this favor."

He closed his eyes and nodded slightly, Scarlett had done much for him and it was his time to return her gracious favor.

The rest of the ride to Tara was that of anxious and uncomfortable silence. Neither Will nor Scarlett wanted to remember her breakdown and they silently swore her secret would not be revealed.


	5. Tara

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Ms. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some backround from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Five**

"Wade? Ella?" Scarlett yelled as soon as the doors to Tara opened, "My darlings, where are you?" She couldn't wait to see her children. People may say she didn't love her children, but it was a vast lie.

The children came barreling down the stairs, staring at their mother oddly for never had she showed such a display of emotion, but ecstatic that she was for even though their mother wasn't the most attentive or affectionate woman, the children loved her nonetheless.

"Mother!" Ella exclaimed eagerly, running into her mother's opened arms. Scarlett buried her worn-out and tear-stained face in her daughter's untamed coppery tresses; beckoning the tentative Wade to her.

Scarlett clutched the two children to her body and sobbed into their hair, "My darlings, my darlings. How mama has missed you!" Finally Scarlett wasn't alone. She had her beautiful children of whom she loved and visa versa.

"What's the matter mother?" Ella glanced up at her Mama and with her fat little hands, wiped away the tears that were forming in her mother's emerald eyes.

"Nothing, baby," Scarlett smiled amiably at her daughter, thinking how alike she and Ella were. Save for her hair, Ella was near a spitting image of her mother. Her eyes- a duller green, were the save shape and Ella's mannerisms were very similar to hers. Never had she realized how much she really did love her children. "Momma is just so happy to see you and Wade again." Scarlett smiled at her children, her eyes apologizing for not being the good mother she should have.

"Mother, are you feeling alright?" Wade asked through the death-grip Scarlett had him in. Scarlett looked at her son. He was becoming an extremely handsome boy. "Yes, my dear."

"Momma, why did you send Wade and me to Tara a week ago?" The inquisitive Ella inquired, toying with a loose piece of lace hanging off Scarlett's sleeve.

"Well, dear," Scarlett swallowed hard, realizing it was time to explain about Melanie. "Do you remember I told you that Aunt Melanie was sick?" Tears sprang into her eyes and Ella nodded, not comprehending. "I sent you away for a week because I didn't want you to see how sick Aunt Melly was."

"Well, she's better now…right?" Wade asked, grabbing one of Scarlett's hands, pleading for her to say she was alright and healthy, for Wade love Melanie almost as much as he loved his mother.

Tears came pouring down Scarlett's face quickly. She reached up and put a hand on either one of her children's cheeks. "No, my dears. Aunt Melly died the day after you left."

Wade's hazel eyes widened in distress and grief as Ella burst into tears and buried her face in her mother's shoulder. Scarlett clutched onto her wailing children, crying with tears she thought would not come.

"Come on Scarlet, dear." Will bent down and tapped Scarlett lightly on the shoulder; "We've a big dinner for yer. Come on Wade, Ella it time to eat."

The children and Scarlett pulled themselves up and trudged halfheartedly into the kitchen where Scarlett felt her stomache contract in starvation for she hadn't eaten in days.

Boiled chicken, cornbread, turnips, corn pone, all different types of vegetables were scattered across the table. Her mouth watered dangerously, her stomach grumbling.

Scarlett shuffled her children in seats beside her and quickly sat down, pulling her napkin loose and spreading it across her lap. Awaiting her chance to dig into the scrumptious food.

The seven people at the table bowed their heads in prayer; giving thanks to God they had food. Scarlett's mind flashed back to after the Atlanta Siege whilst there was close to naught and daily you stomach snarled in starvation.

There was a round of "Amen" before silverware clanked noisily against dishes and laughter from the keyed up children was reverberated through the room.

Scarlett glanced across the room at her worn sister and guilt filled her own body. Scarlett had done everything wrong in life and people around her as well as she suffered greatly. She realized it was either now or never to make amends.

"Suellen, how have you been? Your children are gorgeous things! Look at them!" Scarlett exclaimed, really looking at her nieces for the first time. Both had long russet colored hair, pulled back, but still unruly. Their eyes had a green tint to them, which Scarlett knew came from Suellen for will had chestnut eyes.

Suellen smiled, "We've been fine. Tara is such a wonderful place isn't it? I'm so delighted my children get to grow up here." Suellen turned to look at Will, her dull gray-green eyes lit up when she looked at him. "The three of them."

Scarlett then became conscious of Suellen's growing belly. Motherhood and love had softened Suellen from the spiteful child to the affectionate mother Scarlett someday wished to be. Scarlett never though she would see the day when Suellen was the better person.

"Congratulations Suellen, I'm so glad."

Scarlett desired for Rhett to be by her side. Oh, how she missed the cad who had captured her heart years before. On the day he proposed, he asked why she was marring him, she was kidding herself when she said it was for his money. She knew she loved him, maybe not as strongly then, but adoration was present.

"Scarlett? Scarlett, are you all right? You look dreadfully pale." Suellen tilted her head slight, furrowing her brows, a concerned look on her face.

"Yes. Yes, I'm…I'm fine just very tired. I has been a very trying week, I think it's time for me to retire. If you will excuse me, dinner was wonderful." She staggered over to her children and gave them kisses on their brows and whispered 'Good nights' to them.

"Oh, Scarlett, hold on." Suellen exclaimed, jumping up as Scarlett was almost out the door. Suellen shifted through a pile of papers before she took one in her hand and outstretched it to her sister. "This came for you earlier."

"Thank you, Sue." Scarlett whispered, taking the letter and turning to go, trudging up the stairs. As she pulled herself along, images of Rhett danced in her head causing her to overlook some new pieces of furniture her money went into buying.

With a heavy heart, Scarlett collapsed into a chair near the window, which overlooked the cotton meadows. She held the letter in her lap as she stared blankly out the window. Oddly this gave her some sort of relief. It was as if she was 16 again and never knew of life or Rhett Butler.

She glanced down at the letter and gasped in shock. The scribbled and looped handwriting was familiar and knew it was from the one and only Mr. Butler. Her fingers itched with such intensity to tear open the envelope ravenously, but she steadied herself and broke the seal slowly before reading the letter once, twice, three times over, eyes wide.

_Scarlett,_

_I had a hunch you would be at your precious Tara after Melanie's funeral, and I assume my assumptions are correct. _

_As I have promised I will be arriving tomorrow on the afternoon train from Charleston to keep gossip down in Clayton Country, but I doubt any of them remember we're married anyway. _

_Rhett Butler_

Scarlett knew she wasn't ready to face Rhett, not after her left her and seeing him at Melanie's funeral just broke her heart once more. Scarlett knew she couldn't stay at Tara if he was to come to mock and be malicious. No, it was time to go on her way, time to leave the past behind, time to find a future.


	6. Conflicting Trains

**Thank you for the reviews! **

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Ms. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Six**

Scarlett had packed her belongings as well as her children's the previous night thus they would be ready for the morning train. Scarlett had sat at the small desk next to the window for sometime trying to decide what to write to Rhett. It was unusual for her to have to think about writing to him for it generally came out in bouts but this time Scarlett had decided to be vague; the less her knew, the better.

"Prissy," Scarlett said approaching the introverted girl who was polishing a vase, "Prissy, would you meet Captain Butler at the depot and deliver this letter to him for me?"

Prissy stared intently at the eggshell colored envelope in her hand almost as if she was trying to see through the envelope to see what it said. Scarlett knew. Scarlett had read and re-read the note innumerable times previous to folding and sealing it.

Suddenly the girl looked up into Scarlett's emerald green eyes and nodded, "Yes'm Miss Scarlett, but who's a comin with yer to wherever it is yer goin?"

Scarlett sighed her heart still as heavy as lead weighing her down; "We'll be all right by our lonesome, Prissy, thank you. Just please give this to Captain Butler."

Even though Prissy had by no means ever been in love or felt heartbreak, she knew Scarlett was experiencing it. Never had she seen Scarlett, in all the years she had been her assistance, come across as worn out as she did the past week. Prissy nodded a second time.

"Thank you." Scarlett said before turning and dragging herself up the staircase, the letter she had written Rhett emblazoned in her mind. She closed her eyes at an attempt to shove the thought of the refined Mr. Butler from her mind to no avail.

"Momma!" Ella exclaimed and darted to her mother. The little girl wrapped her little arms around Scarlett's legs, preventing her from walking and Scarlett couldn't help but let out a great laugh at her adorable daughter.

"Good morning my darling! Did you sleep well?" Scarlett kneeled down and embraced the small child, letting her clench her petite hands behind her mother's neck. Ella loved her mother and looked up to her as her idol, almost like Scarlett had done to her mother.

"Yes I did, momma, did you?" Ella smiled warmly at her mother, trying so hard to be a little lady, as Scarlett lifted the child off the ground and held her tightly in her arms. Scarlett couldn't help but smile.

"Yes I did honey, but momma has a surprise for you." Scarlett opened the door to the nursery where her baggage lay in heaps on the floor. Ella tilted her head slightly humming a small tune so rememebered from when she was a very small child.

"Mother," Wade's voice called out before her entered the decrepit room strewn with luggage and aged playthings. Wade too tilted his head. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Yes, my darlings," Scarlett said placing Ella lightly on the floor so she could grab a trunk, "We're going to go exploring and see some different places. How does that sound?"

The children smiled broadly thrilled to observe something other that the dark and dreary house on Peachtree Street in Atlanta that they so hated. It was too mysterious, too stuffy and ostentatious.

Ella clapped her hands, jumping up and down causing her copper-colored hair to bounce. "Will Uncle Rhett be coming?"

It was like Scarlett received an unexpected slap in the face. She closed her eyes and leaned her back against a pale yellow wall. She told herself she had to be strong but it was so difficult, especially when her children mentioned the name she never wished to hear again.

"Momma?"

Scarlett gathered herself quickly and forced a smile, rapidly masking her true feelings; an ability she had always possessed "No, Uncle Rhett is away from home on business and unable to come. Now come my dears, help momma with this heavy trunk."

----

Rhett Butler emerged from the train after what seemed like hours of people shoving and yelling, trying to get to love ones as quick as possible; this though, was not his case.

Rhett lingered in the back if the throng, smoking on his cigar, his jet-black eyes bloodshot from a great deal alcohol ingestion. Running his fingers through his hair, he stepped into the light of day. He had to squint for his eyes were not accustomed to the brilliant sunlight for his past couple days were spent in a small corner of a dark room evoking his past.

His assumed that Scarlett would be awaiting his arrival enthusiastically, throwing herself at him as soon as his weary feet grazed the ground, for that's how he remembered her. A child with overpowering self-worth who believed everyone adored her; how wrong, how wrong.

Rhett's eyes wandered the rambunctious crowd silently searching for Scarlett or a carriage at best. He saw neither and a wave of relief swept over him. What he did see though, was a frightened Prissy, who stood in the back, shuffling her feet.

He silently made his way over to her, his eyes seemed far away and he dragged his feet on the dusty ground, which was unlikely for the generally poised Captain Rhett Butler.

"Hello, Prissy." Rhett addressed the girl, putting out his cigar. Prissy looked at her former employer and saw a great change in him. His eyes were exhausted like Scarlett's and he appeared years elder than he actually was.

"Hallo Mist' Rhett," Prissy began, holding a small envelope out to him, "Miss Scarlett tolds me to gives this to you this mornin'."

Rhett stared at the envelope warily for an instant prior to taking it from Prissy. He held it in his hands for a moment, his fingers itching to break the seal and read his pets writing. "Thank you, Prissy."

Slowly Rhett ripped the seal, read and re-read the words that leaped out off the page, his heart contracting in pain, as he read, unable to take his eyes off the neat handwriting.

Mr. Butler, 

_"I had a hunch you would be at your 'precious' Tara…" I believe those were your exact words in your letter. I was extremely affronted by the fact that you would scoff at Tara and me. I didn't mock Charleston when you went back and I don't think it's your place that you mock my strength._

_That's almost as wounding to me as if you said, 'I hate you,' straight to my face, which you have done not too long ago, so I know from experience._

_Getting to the point of this letter, we appear to have conflicting trains for I have already left. I failed to inform Will and Suellen of your arrival, please do not impose upon them. _

_Scarlett O'Hara _

Rhett swallowed hard, his eyes began to blaze with tremendous anger and sadness. He saw glanced at her name. She had crossed out her matrimony name and used her maiden name. _Purposely, _he thought hatefully _She did it purposely. _His eyes glazed over and his mind block itself of all though, he just stood there on the street like a mute; not hearing or speaking.

"Is you okay Mist' Rhett?" Prissy asked, noticing the apparent change in his posture.

"Yes, Prissy." He said folding the letter and flashing a forced smile at Prissy, "I'm very well in fact. It was nice seeing you again."

With that, Rhett Butler had no other choice that to return to _his_ strength. Charleston.

**A/N- What do you think? Please give feedback.**


	7. Reopened Wounds

**A/N- I was listening to music while writing this and all of a sudden this song comes on that I haven't listened to in forever and it sounds SO much like Rhett's feelings for Scarlett. It's called I Can't Love You Anymore by Gary Nichols **

**Sorry that was way random. On with chapter 7!**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Ms. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Seven**

Scarlett's nerves were running incredibly thin. The morning train had been delayed for reasons unknown to the passengers. Every few seconds Scarlett would check the large clock hanging in the depot. She knew that the afternoon train had arrived on schedule and was relieved she had not seen Rhett, but she knew if the delayed train stalled much longer she just might get a glance of him.

"Where are we going Momma?" Ella asked quietly for the umpteenth time, tugging on Scarlett's sleeve in an attempt at gaining her mothers attention. Ella was always a curious girl and inquired about a great deal, but that was a trait Scarlett admired in her young daughter.

Scarlett had purchased three, one- way tickets to nowhere in particular. She had come to the conclusion that it would have be something spontaneous for she couldn't think of a single place she could take refuge from her haunting thoughts.

"I don't know Ella, where would you and Wade like to go?" Scarlett inquired, a bit absent-minded, again glancing at the clock and toying with and old handkerchief she had found in her aged trunk the previous day. The initials emblazoned on the front were _R.K.B. _He had given it to her the night he aided her half way to Tara. How she missed those days and the old, jovial Rhett; how she wished they could come again.

The children glanced at each other quickly, excitement danced playfully across their lively faces. Oh, how Scarlett wished she could be so carefree again! Ella detached her hand from her mothers and stood closer to her brother so they could converse and discuss where they would like to go. They whispered to each other for an extensive while before Ella bounded to their mother with Wade close behind.

"Momma." Wade began with a large smile on his face, his boyish features happier than Scarlett had ever seen. He was such a handsome child. "Ella and I want to go to Charleston."

If Scarlett had been drinking anything at that moment, she would have spit it out. For a brief instant Scarlett thought she would be sick, "Why is that?" she croaked, praying that she would be able to persuade her children into going to Savannah or Louisianna, or _anywhere _except Charleston.

Ella smiled, "Well, Uncle Rhett always kept telling us how nice it was there, with the Bay of Charleston and all the shops." Ella sighed, her dull green eyes looked far away. "It sounds so beautiful there Momma, please can we go?"

Scarlett swallowed hard, glancing at the clock for the third time in the last minute. "No."

"Oh, please Momma!" Wade and Ella both beseeched jointly, tugging on her skirts and clasping their hands together, their eyes filled with sadness. "Please!"

"No, my dears." Scarlett said trying to camouflage her trepidation, but failing miserable. "Maybe another time, but not now." The children opened their mouths to protest, but Scarlett cut them off, "I'll explain when you're older."

The children both tilted their heads to the right slightly, as if they had practiced for that moment, each with matching baffled looks on their faces. Scarlett couldn't help but smile.

"But Momma," Wade whined, "You said anywhere we wanted to go."

"I know I did dear," Scarlett bent down, shifting her large hoop skirt, and placed a pale, thin hand on her son's left cheek, "but Momma can't go to Charleston right now because…"

Scarlett trailed off as a heavyset conductor waddled onto a nearby platform and began yelling to the multitude. "I'm sorry for the incontinence ladies and gentlemen, but the morning train is being further delayed and will now be departing within the next hour. Again, I am sorry."

Many people around her groaned and some even began to scream at the conductor about the urgency of their trip, but all he could do was shrug and toddle away, uncaring.

Scarlett froze and her heart seemed to stop momentarily. She was up a creek without a paddle so to speak. If Rhett had received the letter, which she was almost positive he did, he would be departing on the evening train as well. She knew if she waited she would most likely see him, but she needed to get away from Atlanta, from everything. She just had to take her chances and disguise her family and herself the best she could.

Scarlett snapped from her lapse and whispered, "Come here." She scooped Ella into her arms and took Wade's hand in her own leading them quickly into a shady corner, which she soon realized the hard way, had a bench.

"Why are we in the shadows Mama?" Wade asked as Scarlett slumped unto the bench taking her left foot and massaging it gently.

"Momma is feeling a little dizzy," Scarlett lied, panting, tilting her head back slightly and closed her weary eyes, "Will you and Ella sit with me for a few moments while I catch my breath?"

Wade and Ella nodded silently, taking seats next to their mother, who put her arms around them and brought them closer to her. How she loved her sweet children.

Scarlett lifted her head and opened her emerald eyes just in time to see a carraige draw near the station. She held her breath and sure enough, Rhett Butler stepped out of it, brushing off his black- tailored jacket. He had apparently gone out for a quick lunch. This day was just getting better and better…

Scarlett jumped up, grabbed her children's skinny wrists and whisked them away, behind a large pole, leaning her head back against the cold surface and panting from her tugging stays. "Oh, dear Lord no."

"What is it Momma?" Ella asked, a look of concern on her face, her copper ringlets falling into her eyes. "Mother, are you alright?"

Scarlett glanced down at her frightened-looking children, rung the handkerchief tighter and shook her head miserably, a solitary tear running down her now pale cheeks. "No, my dears, Momma's not alright." _I don't think I will ever be all right again._

Scarlett glanced around the large support. His back was to her and he was conversing with another man whose hairline has begun to recede. He was nodding his head up and down and her eyes began to water. Her heart was breaking all over again.

Scarlett turned and slid down the pillar, head in hands and shoulders shaking slightly. He wanted to hate Rhett, but her heart was just as stubborn as she was and refused. She wanted to hurt him, she wanted to love him, she wanted to never see him again, she wanted him by her side day and night. Scarlett didn't fancy to confess it, but she was confused.

"Momma!" Ella yelled and fell to her knees trying to circle Scarlett into a hug. Scarlett embraced her daughter quickly and buried her head in her hair.

Wade had seen his mother cry but once in his life. Uncle Rhett had stolen a horse and wagon and helped them escape the siege in Atlanta. Uncle Rhett had lifted his mother out of the carriage telling her to say goodbye and when she returned, she was weeping and her face was splotched with redness. Little did he know she was again crying for the same person.

"Why are you crying?" Wade begged. he hated seeing his mother cry, "Don't cry, Momma."

Scarlett wiped her face on her sleeve and sniffled, "I'm sorry my darlings, don't worry about me." She beckoned Wade forward and wrapped him in her embrace.

"Yes, Mr. Bowen," Scarlett heard that deep Charleston drawl coming dreadfully close to her hiding spot. She swallowed hard and held her children tighter. "I give you my word that I will look into that. Good seeing you again."

Scarlett couldn't fail to notice that he had a slight twinge of happiness in his voice. He didn't care that he broke her heart and was glad to be rid of her! Scarlett's mind screamed and she had to bite her lip painfully hard to keep her tears in.

She then saw a swarm of people gather on the opposite side of the pillar and the heavyset conductors voice again rang out, "Thank you for your patience ladies and gentleman, the train will be departing extremely soon. All aboard!"

There were cheers and the sound of hurried feet on the large train. Scarlett glanced around the support again. She saw Rhett shake Mr. Bowen's hand. He picked up his suitcase and departed for the train.

Scarlett jumped up and grabbed her children's hands tightly. She kept her eyes on her beloved and let a good six or seven people go in front of her. She had a plan.

Scarlett followed the crowd, hanging back slightly. The couple in front of her turned and sat by the exit of the train. The next few people began to sit until there was only one person blocking her from Rhett. No breath came to her.

Rhett looked to his left and took a seat; Scarlett took in a deep breath, put a hand on each of her children's back and turned so suddenly that the woman behind her screamed and dropped her bag and splashed her glass of water. Scarlett put a hand over her mouth for she knew she had started a big commotion.

"Oh," Scarlett whispered, trying desperately not to bring attention to herself. "I'm so sorry."

"You should be!" a large, muscular man bellowed, shoving the woman behind him and stared with narrowed eyes at the frightened Scarlett. The man looked as if she could break Scarlett square in half. "How dare you frighten my wife?"

"Sir, I truly am sorry. It was simply an accident. All I did was turn to get back to my seat." Scarlett began to tremble, something she had never done before. _Why am I being such a coward! You're Katie Scarlett O'Hara! Stand up for yourself!_

"All you did was turn to go to your seat! Look at her! She's trembling!" The man screamed, his face red and dangerously close to hers.

"Sir, I think you're over reacting. I just need to get back to my seat." Scarlett's temper began rising as she clung to her children's hands. The children came closer to their mother, frightened of the man.

Anger flashed in the man's eyes and the next thing she knew, his hand had come down across her face. Everyone had turned around to see his hand collide with her flesh. Scarlett stood there, her mouth slightly and her hand pressed against her cheek.

What a spectacle the man had made! Scarlett's face turned the crimson and she pushed past the man and all the other passengers. Tears sprung in Scarlett's eyes, she clutched to her children, and ran her way to the end of the train.

Rhett watched as Scarlett fled. Anger coursed through his veins and he stood, his hands in balled into tight fists. He approached the man. "I see we have a unmanageable visitor on this train." He hissed. Rhett brought his right fist back and punched the unruly passenger square in the nose with all his strength. The sound of cracking cartilage was heard.

The woman screamed and Rhett looked down at the man who was clutching his nose, blood spooling from his nose, and hatred in his eyes. "If I hear about you even going near her I'll break your arms in half."

Rhett glanced around; everyone's mouths sagging open. His eyes raked through every person before him before he caught a glimpse of Miss. Cathleen Calvert. Rhett vaguely remembered Scarlett and Cathleen being good friends back in the day.

"Mrs. Calvert, please excuse me for I know not of your new last name, may I speak with you for a moment if your husband permits?" Rhett asked throwing the man sitting next to her a hateful glance. He remembered that Scarlett had lost touch when she had married the Yankee.

Cathleen's eyes grew wide and she swallowed hard. She remembered Rhett Butler, and how the good people of Charleston didn't accept him. To say it frankly, she was frightened of him, but nonetheless, she nodded and stood.

"Yes, Mr. Butler?" she asked trying to keep her voice steady. She began twisting a long piece of auburn hair around her pointed finger, a nervous habit she had always possessed.

"I know you and Mrs. O'Hara were friendly many years ago. Would you do me a favor and go check on her? She is probably frightened out of her wits." Rhett stated.

"Sir, if you are so worried about Scarlett, why don't you go?" Cathleen inquired but the moment she did, she wished she could eat her own words.

Rhett's deep black eyes held nothing now, but sadness, "It is a long story and I do not wish to get into detail at this time." Rhett closed his eyes tightly took a deep breath as if it would help him forget the haunting memories.

Cathleen nodded and slowly went after the friend she no longer had while Rhett returned to his vacant seat, burring his head in his large hands, giving in to the past and all the memories that threatened to break free.

**A/N- That's probably the longest chapter I've ever written. **

**Well, there are a lot of emotions in this chapter. Please review and tell me how you liked it or give constructive critism.**


	8. Lost A Battle

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Ms. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Eight**

Scarlett sat in an abandoned compartment in the extensive train, her eyes swimming in tears. She had messed up. It was so difficult to confess it to her obstinate psyche, but she made a mistake.

Wade and Ella were clutching to Scarlett, trying to ask what the matter was, but her mind had blocked all sound from the confines of her perception. Tears trailed their way down her flushed cheeks and her eyes held blank emotion. Looking into her emerald eyes was like looking at a wall, nothing.

These tears that she shed were not because of the occurrence or her wounded pride, but for her relationship with Rhett. Seeing him again only made her freshly cut wounds tear open further. There was no mistaking it now; he hated her, she knew, for she hated herself. Self-loathing was not a new emotion for Scarlett, but she had never felt it so strong before today, the day her eyes lost all emotion.

"Scarlett?" The voice of a long ago friend echoed in her mind. She knew who it was before she looked up. It was the former Cathleen Calvert, the woman who once had the second most beaux in Clayton Country. Wonderful, she had been slapped, wounds reopened, and Cathleen saw it all.

Scarlett looked up, swiping away her tears quickly. "Hello, Cathleen."

Cathleen had changed much since the last time Scarlett saw her. She was a lot quieter now. Scarlett remembered when they were children she and Cathleen would never be able to stop talking once they started. Her blue eyes were content now instead of blazing with gossip as they once were.

Cathleen sat down opposite of Scarlett, fidgeting with her royal blue dress, "Are you alright? That was horrible what that man did."

Scarlett knew this was extremely awkward for the both of them. The two women had a fairly large falling out many years ago and haven't spoken since. What prompted her long ago friend to check on her, she did not know, nor at the moment did she care. She just wanted to be left alone, to wallow in the hatred she had created for herself.

Wade and Ella, already uninterested in the conversation, took the carrying case their mother had brought with her and settled themselves in the row behind their mother; Wade reading a story to his younger sister. What an adorable scene it was.

Scarlett watched her children with adoration in her eyes, something Cathleen had never seen in her once friend's eyes, smiling before turning back to Cathleen. "I'm fine thank you for asking."

There was a long silence in which the women sat still, fiddling with their dress, glove, looking at Wade and Ella, before Scarlett cracked the ice. "Cathleen, how have you been? It has been ages since we last talked."

"Everything is very well, I'm expecting a child due in six months." Cathleen grinned, a soft light entering her powder blue eyes. At that moment Cathleen had changed more than Scarlett gave her credit for. Everyone she once knew had changed, even herself.

"Congratulations, Cathleen." Scarlett said, content for her friend.

Scarlett felt like a child of 16 again. She refused to change over the years and was now paying the price. Suellen has changed into a compassionate woman, Cathleen was the gossiping child no longer, and who was she? Scarlett O'Hara Butler, the foolish girl who kept everyone at arms length, even the people she loved most. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Scarlett, are you alright? You seem…"

Scarlett cut Cathleen off quickly, holding up a slender, white-gloved hand, "Pay no heed to me, Cathleen. I'm an imprudent child who deserves no sympathy." Her voice began to crack, tears gliding down her cheeks.

"I know not of what you mean, Scarlett. What's the matter?" Cathleen began to worry. This was not the Scarlett O'Hara she knew. Scarlett was always strong and confident in herself. This woman sitting across from her was frightened and lost.

Scarlett shook her head miserably, her eyes held the same sadness and depression that she saw moments before in Captain Butler's eyes. "The story would take days if needed to be told. I am in no condition to repeat it, for if I do, I will surely have an emotional breakdown."

Sympathy was encased in Cathleen's eyes as she stared at her lamenting comrade. Cathleen remembered the long ago days in which she and Scarlett would exchange troubles and secrets. It was time to re-create the past. "Tell me Scarlett, I have the time."

Scarlett began divulging rapidly, stuttering as Cathleen tried to decipher what she was explaining. "The time maybe, but I critically doubt the want. Why do you care anyway? You shouldn't, I was horrid to you. What I said so long ago was outlandish and uncalled for. I was just disturbed because we lost the war. If you loved him, the Ya…Northerner, I would want you to marry him. No one should go through life without loving." Scarlett's eyes were so very far away, "I have loved, but he…I pushed him away and he constantly kept me at arms length."

Gasping for breath, Scarlett looked at the blurred figure of Cathleen, "I tried to tell him, but I was too late. He said it was all my fault, when he's in just as much fault as I am."

"Calm down, Scarlett, you're talking incredibly quickly, I can't understand you. Who is it that has kept you away?" Utterly puzzled, Cathleen tried to calm her friend, but Scarlett only shook her head once more.

Scarlett became silent after her rushed statements, unable to say anything more. She sat in the uncomfortable train seats, hands folded in her lap, staring straight ahead of her. She refused to neither see nor hear anyone, her emotions crashing into her body at full force. Every memory of Rhett a blow to her frail body and broken heart. She closed her eyes, desperately trying to block his image from her mind, but failed.

"Scarlett? Scarlett…I have to go, this is my stop." She vaguely heard Cathleen say, shaking Scarlett's arm slightly, concern in her voice, "Will you be alright?"

Scarlett nodded slightly, her blazing emerald eyes clouding over even more, which Cathleen didn't think possible. Scarlett began ringing her hands, a habit Cathleen remembered well from her friend, she was in much pain. Cathleen felt sorry for Scarlett, she had changed so much.

"Scarlett, you remember Captain Butler don't you? The man from Charleston who was staring at you at the Twelve Oaks barbeque all those years ago?" At the mention of Rhett's name, she froze, eyes widening slightly, but Cathleen didn't notice. "Do you want me to send him in in my absence?"

Oh, how little Cathleen knew! Had they been out of touch so long that she knew not of their marriage, or did she still think her married to Frank Kennedy? Those days seemed so far away now. Those days where she would sit on the porch with the infant Ella and the young Wade, humming songs to them. She and Rhett were friendly then, she missed that.

Scarlett shook her head so fiercely, her hair came out slightly. She couldn't face him. Not this soon at least, she wasn't ready. She wouldn't be ready for some time. Her wound too fresh.

Cathleen nodded, her heart going out to her broken friend. Who or what had done this to her? What hope did the world have if Scarlett O'Hara, the strong willed girl has slipping away? "I hope to see you soon, Scarlett." Cathleen said quietly, "We should keep in touch."

Scarlett nodded absent-mindedly as the train began to slow and Cathleen made her way back to her husband, shaking her head sadly, _Poor Scarlett._

Cathleen's tall husband greeted her with a small peck on the cheek and an apprehensive look, taking the heavy bag, which she had taken down from the rack seconds before. "What's the matter? Is everything alright?"

Rhett turned slightly in his seat as Cathleen and her husband made their way to the platform, "How is she Mrs. Calvert. Please excuse me for a second time."

She looked down at the swarthy skinned man with the jet-black hair and sighed, "She's alright Mr. Butler, she is just very lost and frightened. She appears so far away, like she's in a whole different world that you can't disturb."

He nodded, wanting so much to go to her, but his mind played reels of her spiting detestable words at him, screaming, and hurting him again and again. No, he wouldn't go. Why, why couldn't he just have his peace like he wanted? Why couldn't he get away? "Thank you."

Cathleen's husband gave her a curious look before she turned to him and said, "Today is the depressing day in which Scarlett O'Hara, a strong woman from Clayton Country, lost a battle."

**A/N- Hi everyone! I hoped you liked this chapter, but I have serious writers block now, so it may be a little bit before I post again. Please review and tell me how you liked it or give constructive critism.**


	9. Time To Let Go

**A/N- Whoa! That update took longer than expected. I apologize, but you don't want to hear excuses on why I didn't post earlier. On with chapter 9!**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! You don't know how much they mean to me.**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Nine**

_She was running. Running swiftly into the fog that engulfed her, chilling her very being with the cold. A strong mist almost immediately accompanied the miasma, covering Scarlett in a blanket of sodden clothes. _

_She tried desperately to call out, but no sound came from her lips. What was happening? Where was Rhett, her children, anyone? Again she tried to scream, yet failed. Her hands flew to her throat as if they could magically bring sound to the eerily quiet world of which she was now present._

_The Butler mansion appeared to her left, the wrought iron fence shutting her out for eternity. Tears began pouring down her cheeks as sadness quickly instilled its way into her heart. She remembered this place, this place where her heart and soul had withered and died many months ago._

_Without warning, a voice came blasting through the dream, frightening her. She jumped and began sobbing silently, gripping the cold, malicious fence in her petite hands. "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn! Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn! Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!"_

_She shook her head violently, sobbing harder and harder as she saw her beloved Rhett exit the dwelling, a buoyant smile lingering across his lips. He was laughing. He didn't care a bit that her heart was being wrenched from her chest! That malevolent, heartless man!_

"Mother! Mother!" Scarlett could just distinguish a small-frightened voice scream as miniature hands wrapped themselves on her frail shoulders.

Scarlett awoke abruptly, tangled in the sheets of the large bed she was resting in, her long hair sticking to the salty tears chasing each other down her pale cheeks. Ella and Wade were sitting next to their sobbing mother, worried looks on their frightened faces once more. It took her a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the darkness and to realize where she was.

It had been like this for months now. They had been residing in a suite in a pleasant lodge in Richmond, Virginia, Scarlett slowly dying from the inside out. Every night for the past six months Scarlett had been plagued with reoccurring nightmares no one could comfort, and tonight was no different.

"Momma, did you have another nightmare?" Ella asked, her copper tresses mangled from sleep and green eyes filled with slight fatigue and concern.

Scarlett couldn't answer; she could only wrap her children in a tight embrace, trying desperately to mask her sorrow and pain for the sake of the children and herself. She didn't want them asking questions about what her dream was about, she wouldn't be able to bear it. She wouldn't be able to explain…

"Momma is fine my darlings," Scarlett said quietly, lying through her teeth, not bothering to swipe away her tears, smiling at her children, "Go back to sleep, my dears. I'll tell you a story if you wish me to."

Ella looked up at her mother and beamed. She loved when her mother told them stories! "Momma, will you tell us the one about the prince and princess?" The little girl's dull green eyes pleaded, for that story in particular was her favorite, "Please Momma."

Scarlett smiled; tears still falling gently down her face. "Of course, my dear."

The two children got under the warm covers and pulled the crème colored fabric up to their chins. Eager to listen, they stared at their mother intently, waiting for her to begin. "Once upon a time there was a little princess with long, long chocolate colored hair that fell to her waist a green eyes. Her mother and father loved her bunches, but she wasn't the lady she should have been. She incessantly made a muddle of her dresses and wasn't consistently as sweet-tempered as her mother and her mammy required her to be.

"Well, one day she met a fine prince, but he would make the princess angry for he would make fun of her to the point of tears. The little princess would ignore the prince for days and days at a time and drive him to the brink of insanity. He became incredibly irritated, so the prince left the princess palace. But one day he returned and told her he loved her."

Scarlett's tears became more consistent as she stared ahead of her, her voice holding little to no emotion. Rhett. Oh how she missed him! He used to tell this story, this story of their life to their youngest daughter whenever she asked. She looked out the window into the darkness and couldn't help but wonder what he was doing.

She looked down at her two beautiful children, their eyelids shut peacefully with slumber. Scarlett leaned forward and placed a small kiss on each of their brows. The children knew not of the importance they gave their mother. They gave her their love and kindness, the thing she needed most now.

Scarlett glanced at the small, incredibly polished table that sat at the other side of the rather large room. She had so many letters she hadn't opened and sleep was a stranger to her this night. Slowly she lifted the sleeping Wade in her arms and carried him over to the cot he had so begged for when they had arrived six months previous.

"Goodnight my darlings." Scarlett whispered into the darkness as she slowly made her way to the chair, which beckoned to her. Her legs were quite sore due to the amount of walking mother and children had done that say. They had walked quite a way down the James River and back up again just enjoying each other company and loving the peacefulness.

Scarlett now understood what Rhett meant when he said all he wanted from life was peace, for that was all she was searched for now. Too long had she cause such drama and been caught in the middle of it. Too long had she poked and persisted until she found a person's breaking point. She had enough.

Scarlett had had a revelation near four months back. Sadness and hatred only made one tired, for she had experienced its ugly toll. She had no energy and her emotions were taking over her life. She came to the conclusion that blocking those emotions were for the best. Scarlett no longer felt extreme anger and sadness, only a feeling of regret, which loomed over her head day after day.

Scarlett had built up a wall surrounding herself as well as her children. She had taught herself to trust no one after Rhett had left and the only people she could trust were her children. They didn't judge her, only loved her. The children had her tattered heart and they accepted it with open arms.

Scarlett sighed heavily, picking up a beige colored envelope. She slowly ripped the seal as so not to wake her children and glanced at the letter. It was from Uncle Henry.

_Scarlett,_

_Dear God, woman! Do you know how much investigating I had to go through to find out where you were? Next time you decide to take a little trip, kindly inform me of your whereabouts so I could contact you if anything went wrong._

Scarlett couldn't help but chuckle at his comment. She could just see the burly man getting red in the face and hear the sarcasm of his words.

_I'm sending you this letter as an update on life here in Atlanta. The house on Peachtree Street is in the same condition as how you left it months ago, huge. _

_Your account from previous to you wedding that scoundrel is still intact and quite full actually. You once told me you married him for his money, but I see no point in that. You could have supported yourself as well as the children with all the money you made from the lumber business and the store. But it isn't my business._

_Speaking of the children, how are they? I haven't seen them in almost a year now. I bet they have gotten so big! Send them my love. _

_Uncle Henry Hamilton_

Placing the letter down atop the shiny surface, her mind said again and again the words Uncle Henry had jotted down on the small piece of paper; You could have supported yourself as well as the children with all the money you made…

The sentence plagued her mind for what seemed like hours before she picked up a small book she had been attempting to read for months and began skimming it. Scarlett had been trying desperately to read to get her mind off Rhett, but she could never get past page forty two, for a line haunted her days as well as nights until she thought she would scream of grief and frustration.

_'When you love someone, you must let them go and hope they return.' _Scarlett debated over this saying for months now and forever came to the same conclusion. She didn't want to let Rhett go. She didn't want him to leave her life permanently, but he wanted nothing to do with her. He hated every fiber of her being. How could she make amends with him, if he wanted to strangle her?

But she loved him so! What if she did let him go and she never saw him again? Scarlett knew she couldn't bear it, and deep inside she knew she couldn't hold on to the broken marriage forever. No matter how much she loved him, or how much she needed him, he would never answer. She couldn't keep him locked in his mothers house, never to see happiness again. She knew it was time to let go…

**A/N- Hey everyone! I apologize for the confusion of the train scene; I know a few people were confused about what was happening. I'm going to go back and fix that soon.**

**As for another question that keeps popping up, I can only say so much and so little, for I don't want to spoil it. So have patience, have patience. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review!**


	10. The Storm

**Thank you everyone for the reviews! Thats what keeps me going!**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Ten**

Wade and Ella clutched their mother's hands, eyes wide; taking in everything they could as they strode down the Battery in Charleston, South Carolina. The children were entranced by everything, recalling everything their Uncle Rhett told them about the town he loved, but Scarlett was too preoccupied to notice.

Scarlett was going over her plans in her jumbled mind. She had wired her aunts Eulaine and Pauline telling them she would be visiting for a few days. They graciously gave her a place to stay for her for the extent of her trip, which Scarlett knew wouldn't be very long.

Scarlett glanced up at the graying sky and sighed. Rain. The sky reflected her glum mood that day. She didn't want to do what she knew she must and all she felt that day was sadness, an emotion she wished to block out.

"Momma," Wade asked, looking up at her, "What are we going to do today?" It was his first day in the wonderful city and he wanted to make it a memorable one.

"Well, my dear," she smiled at her son and ruffled his dark brown hair. He had gotten so big in the past six months! "Momma has to go see an…old friend, but I promise it will only take an hour at most. I wired your aunts and they were happy to look after you for an hour."

"But Momma!" Ella began protesting, pleading in her dull green eyes. "Can't we come with you? I wanted you to play dollies with me today, and I don't know if Aunties Eulaine and Pauline will play with me." Ella loved spending time with her mother, and visa versa, but this was something Scarlett had to do alone.

Scarlett smiled at her sweet daughter and smoothed her unruly copper tresses. "I'm sorry, my dear, but Momma has to go alone, but I will see to it that your aunts play dollies with you and read to Wade. How does that sound? And when I get back I'll take you both out to look around."

Wade and Ella's faces both lit up, seemingly exuberantly pleased with her answer. "Truly?" The two asked in unison, excitement flowing over the children.

Scarlett smiled and nodded, wishing she could be a child again. A child with no worries or regrets, just happiness for life and love for everything. "Truly."

----

Scarlett sat in the small, closed carriage, her heart breaking more and more the closer the stagecoach came to the Butler household where she knew Rhett would be. He had told her once before about the house and his mother, but she never really paid any heed. She was a stupid child and would forever regret her decisions, but that was the past.

Over and over again she repeated what she was going to say. She had practiced for the past few hours, but now that she sat, so close to the home, wringing her hands, she slowly lost her grip on her thoughts and the image of Rhett appeared in her jumbled mind. No!

Tears began forming in her eyes, but they had no time to fall, for her carriage driver pulled up to the quaint little house, opened the door and offered his hand to help her down. She swallowed hard. This was it.

"Thank you." She managed to whisper through her grief, but before she knew what she was doing she was knocking lightly on the oak door, waiting to be let in. Scarlett had to resist the urge to flee and tell the driver to take her far, far away, but she knew deep down in her dilapidated heart, that what she was doing was for the best. Wasn't it?

Mrs. Butler answered the door, her eyes failing to mask her downright shock she received at seeing her daughter-in-law on her doorstep. Scarlett was relieved that the butler hadn't been the one to answer and she just stood there looking at her mother-in-law. Recovering from her bolt from the blue rather quickly, Eleanor Butler said, "Scarlett, do come in."

Eleanor hadn't seen Scarlett more than a handful of times during her son's marriage, but she held something that could only be described as a mixture of anger and sympathy. The last time she had seen her daughter-in-law was at her granddaughters funeral, in which she was the only one to comfort Scarlett. It had been raining that terrible day and Rhett had inched farther and farther from his wife, until she was soaked through in rain. Eleanor had offered a shoulder to cry on and an umbrella to stay dry.

Eleanor was furious with her son after that horrible day. No gentleman would do such a thing, but when confronting him, he only ignored his mother and cried for his late daughter.

Scarlett looked up into the sky as a lightning bolt lit up the incredibly gray sky, illuminating everything, and stepped into the beautiful home. Again swallowing hard she turned to Miss Eleanor as she asked, "What can I do for you dear?"

"Miss Eleanor," Scarlett started, and then stopped, taking a deep breath and wringing her hands together. Finally Scarlett looked at her mother-in-law who didn't fail to notice the sadness embedded within Scarlett's jaded hues. "I…I need to speak to Rhett."

Mrs. Butler nodded and pointed to a set of closed double doors in which Scarlett assumed led to the parlor. "My son is in there." She whispered.

Gulping, she nodded, thanking her mother-in-law. Rhett was in there. Rhett, who she had longed to see for months and months, but now the man she wished to run away from. What if six months had turned him colder than when he left? What if he spat at her? Scarlett couldn't think of that now, she just needed to see him.

Leisurely she made her way over to the doors and pushed them open slowly, listening to the hinges creak with intensity. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the dark room and stared at the figure sitting in the chair farthest from the door, drowning himself in brandy.

Neither of them said anything, nor did Rhett take attention her presence, he just sat there nursing another cup of brandy as Scarlett sat across from him, the wide table the only thing separating them save for the invisible walls they had built up incredibly high.

Scarlett watched as Rhett reached over to the small cabinet and grabbed another cup. Sloppily he splashed the brandy into it and batted it to her with the back of his large hand. The amber colored liquid sloshed onto the glossy surface of the table. Scarlett just folded her hands in her lap, refusing the liquid, which had tried so desperately to wean herself off of.

"Hello Rhett." Scarlett whispered, knowing she sounded incredibly daft, but what else could she say? He was in his own world she couldn't pull him out of.

Again he said nothing, but only poured himself two glasses and gulped them down quickly with the snap of his wrists and flicked a an unruly piece of hair which fell into his eyes. His mind began racing, asking numerous questions. Why was she here? Why couldn't she just give him the peace she so longed for?

"Rhett, I…" Scarlett began and again watched him drown another glass. She couldn't watch himself drink himself into the oblivion! She couldn't take it! She reached across the table and snatched the decanter from him hands and watched as he turned his head, dark eyes blazing with an anger she hadn't seen in months.

"Please stop this." Scarlett cried, motioning toward the bottle in her hands with a tilt of her head, concern filling her eyes and her soft words. "Rhett, you're going to drink yourself into an early grave if you don't stop this incessant drinking."

Rhett just stared at her rather intently for a moment, as if he were actually pondering her words, before he threw his head back and laughed bitterly. "Thank you for worrying about _my_ wellbeing dear, but shouldn't you be getting back to your precious Ashley. He must be worried that you left Atlanta."

"That's just spiteful, Rhett. You know I don't love Ashley and it's you I love. Can't you just be a civilized human being for once, or is that too much to ask?" Scarlett's temper flared, but it never reached her grief-stricken eyes, an action Rhett didn't fail to notice. Scarlett closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, relieving herself of the bad energy around her before continuing. "I left Atlanta months ago, I don't belong there. It is my home no longer."

There was a long pause before Rhett looked into Scarlett's green eyes and asked, "What is it that you want from me, Scarlett?" He was through with her games, her drama, her. Why couldn't she just understand that he had no feelings for her any longer? Or did he? He needed a drink.

In that moment, a crack of thunder rumbled through the room, causing the small chandelier above then to shake violently. Scarlett swallowed hard before starting. "Rhett, I once read a saying, _'When you love someone, you must let them go and hope they return.' _I…I…"

Scarlett couldn't bring herself to say it. Years of friendship and unknown love were going to be cast away. It was the last tie between them, and she didn't want to cut it.

Slowly Scarlett whispered, wringing her hands until they turned bright red. "I have decided to sell the home on Peachtree Street. My lawyer has contacted me at my current residence; he informed me I have enough money to support my children. When, or if, the house sells, I'll forward you the profits, for…" Scarlett couldn't continue, her voice began cracking dangerously.

She missed the hurt in Rhett's dark eyes and his confused expression as he straightened himself in the chair in which he sat, for she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Her heart was already breaking and looking at him would throw her over the edge.

Rhett watched the broken figure before him, unbelieving. She had changed greatly and not for the better. She was no longer the vivacious young woman, a sparkle always in her eyes. Scarlett's eyes and face, he noticed, held nothing but depression and heartache. He felt sorry for her, an emotion he knew she hated. "No Scarlett, you keep the money. You have Wade and Ella and you need…"

Scarlett's fists balled in despair, her nails digging painfully into her soft flesh. She watched as it collided into the smooth surface, causing the now neglected glasses atop the table to tremble violently. No!"

Scarlett looked up into Rhett's eyes; unshed tears clouding her own vision. "Please Rhett. I don't want you to be hostel towards me forever and I'm afraid if I hold on any longer you will despise me until the day you die. I couldn't bear that, I just couldn't! I need to do this, Rhett. I love you so much! Please! Please Rhett, let me let you go."

Scarlett's shoulders began to quake violently as she bent her head over to cover her face. He couldn't see her cry, he thought people who cried were weak, but as he watched her, his heart broke. He had to resist the urge to take her in his arms and comfort her.

Scarlett pulled herself together slowly, sitting with an empty expression on her face as Rhett said quietly, "As you wish, Scarlett, as you wish."

They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, the only sounds entering the room were that of the thunder and the sound of heaving rain hitting the window in a vain attempt to enter. Scarlett glanced out the window watching the rain, which made her somewhat drowsy before she got up the gumption to ask, "Rhett, can I ask you a question?"

"Alright." he said rather skeptic, having an idea of what she was going to ask.

"Why did you marry me when you had her?" Scarlett asked so quietly Rhett had to strain his ears to hear her. The question, which had been plaguing her thoughts for weeks, blurted from her mouth.

"What?" he asked dumbfounded. This was not the question he was expecting. "Who in God's name are you talking about, Scarlett."

"Belle Watling. Why did you marry me when you had her to run to?" Scarlett's eye refused to meet his, but she could feel his unwavering stare blaring into her frail body.

"I know you though me as the strong woman, but you know you hurt me a great deal more than you will ever know. You ran straight from me to her. For days I didn't know where you were, I was worried sick. I had to find out from a man on the street who had been there to gamble. God only knows what you did over there. And as always the wife is the last to know.

"Tell me something, Rhett, did you like hurting me, for that's all you ever seemed to do. Do you remember those days before marriage when we were the best of friends? We used to talk about everything. If you needed to talk you could have come to me, I was after all your wife. You didn't have to share everything on our marriage with her." Normally, these words would have been odious, but Scarlett's voice held no hint of anger or anything else for that matter.

"Scarlett…" Rhett started, but Scarlett only held up a hand to silence him.

"No. I want that to be a rhetorical question. Some things are better left unsaid I guess."

Rhett didn't like this new Scarlett. Where was her fiery Irish temper he so loved? Where was the sparkle in her eyes? Where was any emotion? She just sat there with a blank face, staring, but not really looking. Speaking, but not really thinking. He had to do something, anything to see some emotion back in her emerald eyes.

Again they sat silently, listening to the insistent panging of water droplets meeting window. It was too dark and Rhett didn't notice tears trickling down Scarlett's cheeks. "I must take my leave, I promised I'd play dollies with Ella today."

Rhett watched as she stood and walked slowly to the door, anger coursing though his body. Damn it, show emotion! He wanted to cause her pain, the same pain he was feeling now. The pain of not knowing where she was for half a year. He was the one who persisted that Uncle Henry track her down and find her. He needed to know where she was, but even when he found her, he refused to tell him her residence. The pain of not having her with him. Without thinking spiteful words flowed from Rhett's lips. "You never were a good mother, Scarlett. I guess that's one of the reason I never loved you.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking in here lately and I've come to the consistent conclusion that I never did really love you. You were just something, a prize I guess you could say, I couldn't have and once I had you, al I wanted to do was be rid of you."

He watched as Scarlett flinched at every insult he spat at her. She turned to face him hurt written plainly across her features; eyes clouding over with tears, her bottom lip trembling slightly, and her shoulder shaking with unshed sobs. Her heart was wrenched clear from her chest, leaving behind a searing pain, which could only be described as over powering. How could he say something so malevolent?

Slowly she brandished a handkerchief, his handkerchief that she carried with her everywhere, and watched as her tears fell onto it as she folded it. She walked to the edge of the table and laid the small white linen there and whispered, "Goodbye Captain Butler."

She fled the room quickly, shutting the door behind her. She staggered over to the banister following the stairs, folding her arms over it and sobbing her pain into them. He was hateful! Her silent sobs turn into wracking, painful ones, which caused her to fall to the hard, cold floor with a loud thump.

Miss Eleanor had rushed from her room when she heard a loud thud and was frightened seeing Scarlett crumpled in a heap on the floor, weeping. Quickly she ran down the stairs and knelt by her daughter-in-law, "Scarlett, dear. Scarlett what's the matter."

Scarlett looked up, her face red and splotchy, heartbreak and grief in her tormented eyes. "What do you do, Miss Eleanor, when the only person who can stop your crying is the once who made you cry?"

Miss Eleanor sat with Scarlett as she sobbed desperately, for a man she thought she knew and knew she loved, digging her finger nails into her chest, trying to comfort the poor weeping child whose heart had been broken seemingly numerous times by her son.

Gradually her sobs quieted and Scarlett looked up at her mother-in-law, again her voice held no emotion. "Thank you Miss Eleanor. I apologize for my sorry display and conduct. Thank you for your hospitality. It was good seeing you again."

Scarlett pushed herself up off the floor, brushed off her dress and wiped away her tears. She could hear the rain thickening and the crack of thunder booming, but she had to get home to her children. She needed to see them, needed them to need her.

"Scarlett?" Miss Eleanor asked following her daughter-in-law to the door a frightened and confused look upon her face, "It's pouring rain out! Stay for a while to see how the storm plays."

Scarlett turned and attempted a smile for the generous woman but failed, "I'll be fine. I need to get back to my children and my aunts Eulaine and Pauline are probably worried. I don't want to over stay my welcome."

"You are welcome here as long as you like, dear." The grey haired woman said taking Scarlett's upper arm and began leading her to the study. She wanted to know what was the matter.

"Really Miss Eleanor," Scarlett said attempting another smile. "I have no means of contacting them and they're probably worried. I need to see my children, please. Please Miss Eleanor."

The elder woman sighed and let go of Scarlett's upper arm. "Again, I thank you for all your hospitality. I hope to see you soon." She called as she

Before Miss Eleanor could say anything, Scarlett had bolted down the walkway into the torrential downpour. Rhett glanced out the window to see Scarlett leaning against her carriage, tears in her eyes getting soaked. What had he done to the poor girl?

Slowly she removed her shawl and held it over her head as the carriage driver helped her up. She lost her footing slightly and Rhett became apprehensive from the window, but she grabbed the door and pulled herself inside where she sobbed uncontrollably and with no one who would judge or mock her.

The carriage rolled lazily away from the house, the sound of rain whipping around the stagecoach. Why couldn't her life be easy? Why did she have to make a mess of things? The self-loathing came back full force and she screamed in grief and anger.

The carriage jostled violently and Scarlett was pulled from her grief. What was going on? The stagecoach became less balanced and began swerving dangerously. Scarlett grasped onto seat cushions and her heart began beating incredibly quickly. What was happening?

Scarlett was just about to open the window to ask about the loss of balance when she heard a snap and the carriage tipped to one side and jolted backwards. She let out a blood-curdling scream as the carriage again jolted to the left, her head smashing against its wall ricocheting off, consciousness lost as blood poured down her left temple. The carriage lurched onward and she flew headfirst into the other side of the small stagecoach, collapsing onto the floor as the horse and carriage buckled down around her.

**A/N- Please tell me how you like the story and give constructive critism! Thanks!**


	11. It's Not Your Time

**A/N- Hey everyone! I am SO sorry I haven't updated sooner! I just got so frustrated that what I was writing wasn't coming out right. Finally after two weeks I sat at my computer for a day and forced myself to write. I hope it's enjoyable. **

**On with Chapter Eleven!**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Eleven**

Sister Mary Margaret knelt inaudibly in the pews of a small, quaint church she was so familiar with, praying with the rest of the sisters. She had spent most of her days here in this church, it was her home, and she loved it.

She remembered when she told her family about joining a nunnery, they all though she was joking; they hadn't realized just how serious she was. When Brent had died in war, she knew she could never love another, not like she loved him. She didn't want to be like her sister, marrying men she didn't love and then her husband wanting a divorce afterwards.

Yes, she had heard of the way Mr. Butler wanted to conclude her sister's third marriage. Her Aunt's had told her while visiting one day. She married him for money, the same reason she wedded Frank Kennedy, and he wanted to divorce her. She had run away after the news and no one has heard from her since. The poor Captain Butler was worried to death before Uncle Henry came in contact with her.

Careen shook her had slightly, never had she thought she would be using those words in the same sentence. 'Poor Captain Butler', he was a heartless man and somewhere deep within the bowels of her mind, she refused to believe he had any feelings other that spitefulness and an overriding air of self-worth. Even after her sister married the scoundrel she disliked him profusely, and him divorcing her elder sister, the sister she used to look up to, just put the icing atop the cake so to speak.

The nuns sustained with their dawn prayer when there was a rather large gust of wind that flew into the small chapel and the door to the church closed abruptly. The sisters continued their prayer ignoring presence of the two men who were watching them, trepidation in their eyes.

Nearly and hour and a half subsequent the gentleman had unexpectedly ruptured through the oak doors, Sister Irena Elizabeth approached them. The men were bedraggled and anxious, and Sister Irena couldn't help but speculate as to why they were present. "Good morning, how can I help you?"

"Is there a sister with the surname O'Hara residing here? It's of great importance." One of the men asked apprehensively. Doctor Reid had sent them out in the wee hours of the morning on a mission to find the sister of the unconscious and almost lifeless Scarlett O'Hara. The men had visited every convent in Charleston that morning searching for a woman who they didn't even know.

Careen overheard the budding conversation between the men and Sister Irena and chimed in, unsure if she wanted to know of the two men's visit. "Excuse me, but I have the last name O'Hara. Is there anything the matter? Can I help you with anything?"

"Oh, thank the Lord!" The other man exclaimed, wiping his sweat soaked brow upon his tattered and filthy sleeve. "We've searched all over town. You're sister is Scarlett O'Hara correct?" Careen nodded. "We are Doctor Reid's assist, your sister has been in a dreadful catastrophe."

Careen gasped, covering her lips with her elfin hand, eyes widening. Not Scarlett, not after all she'd been through the past few months. "What happened? Is she alright?"

"Sister, I'm sorry to say that she most likely won't make it thought the rest of the morning. She had a severe concussion, a rather large contusion on her right arm, a shattered collarbone, and internal bleeding as well as other numerous injuries. We need you to come down to the hospital and stay with her for the blow to the head she received was incredibly forceful and we need someone who she's familiar with to be there." One of the gentlemen said quietly and desolately.

Without hesitation, Careen bolted for the door. Scarlett had kept her family alive during the years of poverty and war; she even given up what little food she had for her and Suellen when they had been deathly ailing with typhoid. Her sister needed her and she would go to her, she wouldn't let her sister die, not when she was so young and had so much life left in her!

Careen exploded through the front entrance greeting the blaring sun by shielding its rays from her pale hazel colored eyes. The footman had seen her come forth from the convent door and approached her asking the identical question the two men and asked her previously, "You are Mrs. O'Hara's sister."

"Yes," She answered, out of breath and anxious, she needed to get to her sister, and quickly. "I need to get to the hospital right away and as quick as possible. Please help me."

"Doctor Reid sent me to accompany Reginald Mullen and Anthony Thackeray, the men you encountered a few moments ago. Come, I'm not sure there's much time left for your sister."

------

Numbness. Scarlett stood enveloped in the complete and utter darkness feeling nil. She felt not the incredible ache in her heart she has felt days before nor the unbearable pain that had wracked her body it seemed like forever ago, all she felt was an odd sense of… naught.

There was only one word to describe how Scarlett felt, in the dark place she had found herself for days and even it was wide of the mark. She was cold. So cold in fact that pins and needles had been long ago replaced with the feeling of being thrust under an arctic watercourse repetitively.

Scarlett found herself shivering non-stop and reckoning she was so frozen that her lips had turned an awkward shade of blue and unbearably chapped for they were incurably pained. What was she doing here? Where was she, and what had happened? She was very much alone; standing in the darkness she knew nothing about calling out to learn of her surroundings.

"Hello?" Her voice cracked through it's raspy exterior her body wavering from the extensive cold. "Hello, is anyone out there?"

There was a rustling about her and before she knew it, she was in a different, glorious land. A garden filled with wonderful flowers; roses, daffodils, petunias, daises, violets and so many other beautiful arrays it was hard to keep concentration. The flowers were enticing and they looked so elegant and beauteous but as Scarlett took a step forward she heard a voice she hadn't hear in months, calling to her, "Scarlett, darling."

Scarlett turned around, unbelieving. The woman before her stood around her height with chestnut colored eyes and deep chocolate colored hair that formed a peaceful widows peak on her forehead. Scarlett was flabbergasted, her only friend Melanie was standing before her, speaking to her once more. Tears came to Scarlett's eyes. "Melly? Oh, Melly… it's you! I have missed you so! Melly…am I…what happened to me?"

Melanie only smiled at her lost friend, kindness in her soft, dark eyes as she took her friends hand. "Don't cry, Scarlett darling, everything is going to be alright, don't worry, dear."

"Melly," Scarlett sobbed, her eyes swimming in tears, "Melly, I'm so scared, what happened to me? What going on? I don't remember anything. I remember just sitting then…then freezing darkness than engulfed me…"

Melanie took Scarlett in a sisterly embrace, comforting the frightened child who Melanie knew as the willfully strong Scarlett O'Hara. She had been strong for so long, it was time for her to cry like everyone else. She had lost more than most do in a lifetime, but kept her feeling bottled up, shielding them from the rest of the world as if someone would come along as mock them. "Shh… it's alright Scarlett, don't cry."

They sat there for a few moments as Scarlett pulled herself together, straightening out the few wrinkles in her dress, "I'm sorry for my conduct, sister, it's just…" Scarlett didn't know how to continue and Melly didn't fail to notice. Melly had always been one to clearly see emotion from people's eyes and now in her almost sisters, there was confusion to the highest degree.

Melly laid her petite hand on Scarlett's, "It's alright, dear, don't worry."

There was silence between then as Scarlett again took in her beautiful surroundings, watching in amazement as flowers bloomed within seconds, watching as they twisted and turned around each other, giving each other enough space yet coming together as friends. She saw as a small little orange butterfly landed on her thin shoulder, fluttering its wings, but not moving. This was such a peaceful place.

The two women sat serenely on the grass, which was almost silky to the touch, as they made small talk. "How have you been Melly? Are you happy?"

Melanie smiled at her sister-in-law, admiration in her eyes. "Yes, Scarlett darling, I am so happy here. I miss you and everyone else, but I have little Bonnie and the baby to keep me company as well as Charlie and all our old friends from before the war."

Scarlett eyes brimmed with unshed tears at the mention of her Bonnie and the little unborn babe she had carried for a short time. How she had missed them! The void in her heart, which held Bonnie and the baby, grew larger and larger with each passing day. Everyone missed the blue eye beauty something terrible and Scarlett wished she could see her baby once more. "My Bonnie baby, where is she Melanie? Can I see my Bonnie?"

"Bonnie baby! Come here darling!" Melanie called over her shoulder and within moments there was a slight rustling in the bushels of flowers. The crackle of leaves and twigs under that child's petite feet grew louder and louder until the little, jovial girl stood next to her Aunt Melly, a large smile on her face.

"Look who's here Bonnie darling," Melanie started, but she couldn't finish before the child's bright blue eyes brightened and she exclaimed "Momma!" running into the open arms of her mother, listening as Scarlett buried her face in her daughters golden hair and sobbed.

"Bonnie! My Bonnie baby, I've missed you so much!" Scarlett sobbed into her daughter's neck, clinging to the small girl who, in turn, griped her mother back in a tight embrace. "Bonnie, my Bonnie, it's you! It's you! It's really you! I love you Bonnie baby! Oh, my baby girl!"

Melanie watched mother and child with tears in her eyes. The scene before her was beautiful and touching, mother and daughter reuniting again after months and months of separation. It wasn't fair that life took little Bonnie and the unborn babe from Scarlett and Rhett, but now she and her daughter had some time together, even if it wasn't for long.

Mother and daughter held each other, crying for what seemed like hours before a searing pain tore through Scarlett's temple. She cried out in pain and clutched her daughter in one hand while the other flew to the source of the pain. Melanie didn't fail to notice and she was instantly by her side.

"What's the matter Scarlett? Are you all right? Scarlett…Scarlett are you with us?" Melanie asked, attempting to grab her sister in laws shoulder, but her hand went right through her. She attempted again, but this time Scarlett cried out as another jab of pain tore through her head.

Scarlett had never felt physical pain like this before, not even when she had the miscarriage all those months ago. This was almost as if her head were going to fall off if she moved even a muscle in her body. She glanced up to Melanie for help, but her figure was fading, as was her Bonnies. "Melanie! Bonnie!"

"Momma!" Bonnie screamed as she tried to grab hold of her mother before she was gone from her again. Her hands went right through her mother's and she began sobbing, screaming for her mother again. She wanted her with her now that she was here.

"Scarlett," Melanie said, "It's not your time darling. I'll watch after Bonnie and the baby. Please take care of yourself, we love you so much."

In a desperate attempt to grab onto her sobbing daughter once more, Scarlett slipped and another pain tore through her skull. Scarlett never got a chance to tell Melanie or Bonnie how much she loved them and she wouldn't let the chance slip again. "My Bonnie baby, I love you so much! Don't worry, I'll never leave you and you'll never leave me." She put a hand to her heart and Bonnie copied her actions. "I'll always be with you Bonnie, and you me. You'll be right here in my heart. I love you so Bonnie, just remember that I love you so much."

Scarlett turned to Melanie, her image flickering dangerously, "Melly, you've always been the best of friends to me and I never got a chance to tell you how much I loved and respected you. Please take care of my Bonnie for me." Melanie nodded, tears clouding her vision. "Goodbye, I love you both so very much."

Suddenly she was thrust into another whirlwind of darkness, spiraling down and farther down. She screamed out in pain as her whole body became consumed in the immeasurable amount of throbbing in her body. From her head to her toes there was nothing but ache, an ache, which was so excruciating that she would double over if she were jostled in the slightest.

The silence she had found herself in was broken by hushed whispers and clanking tools, she moaned as excruciating pain overwhelmed her frail and tired body. Her eyes began to dart back and forth within her closed eyelids as if there were some activity. Her breathing, which had been incredibly shallow days before, was slowly becoming deeper and deeper. Careen saw these differences and rushed over to the side of the small duvet she was gently lain in, praying to God her sister would make it through.

Gradually the eyelids of Scarlett O'Hara opened to reveal her bright green cat like orbs clouded with pain staring at the ceiling intently. It had been nearly two weeks of waiting for Careen. She had spent almost all of her time by her sister's side, praying fervently that her eldest sister make it through the horrid accident.

Scarlett's head felt too heavy, even for her body. She allowed it to slide and roll to her right where she was frightened by a relieved face staring back at her. Scarlett's eyes widened in fear as she attempted to permit a scream, but it only came out as a muffled cry. Who was this woman and why was she here?

She began scrambling away from the nun before her frightened, but pain once more enveloped her and she abandoned her struggle to scream out in agony, her body wrenching upward to try and relieve any pain whatsoever. Why was she is so much pain?

"Doctor!" Careen shrieked, taking hold of her sister's thin hand, watching as she clutched it with her own causing it to turn a deep shade of violet, tossing and moaning in an indescribable pain. "Doctor Reid! She's awake! Come, we've witnessed a miracle! Pray to the Lord! She's alive!"

Doctor Reid bolted into the hospital room, panting desperately. He had kept a sharp surveillance on Scarlett O'Hara and finally, after a fortnight of waiting and praying, she was conscious…and in pain. He rushed to get something to relieve her pain but only found a mediocre solution, it would have to do for now.

The doctor had Careen sit her sister up as best she could before pouring a disgusting tasting liquid down her throat. Scarlett coughed and sputtered uncontrollably as soon as the fluid slithered down her throat, never had she tasted anything so vile, so disgusting! Yet through its revolting taste, it worked and for that Scarlett was thankful.

"Thank you." She croaked as she slumped backwards just before Careen or Landon Reid could catch her. With each other's help, they lowered Scarlett's frail body into the bed lightly as to not manhandle her too much. Her bruises and wounds, if anything had become worse in the past few days. Her cuts would re-open at least twice a day; the contusions on her arms were discolored and so purple that they looked almost black.

"I'm so glad your back with us Scarlett! I was so worried you wouldn't make it." Careen said, taking her sisters hand again and watched as a confused expression danced across her face, followed by one of extreme thought. Scarlett was her name? What was she talking about?

Scarlett looked from Careen to Doctor Landon Reid and back again, her confusion deepening as she whispered an almost inaudible, "Who are you?"

**A/N- I hope you like the chapter. Please review to give constructive critism.**


	12. Confusion and Maliciousness

**A/N- I so sorry this hasn't been posted sooner, but here it is now. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Twelve**

Careen and Doctor Reid shot each other identical glances of perplexity and anxiousness. This was not expected, but neither was her recovery. This was an eccentric case, one of which the doctor had never before seen. "Can you tell me your name?" Doctor Reid asked gently for he knew she was completely shaken by the look of terror on her face.

Scarlett swallowed hard; wracking her brain for an answer she knew not the answer to. There was an exceedingly elongated hush in which she thought until her skull throbbed. Gradually she remembered the woman standing next to her say a name not too long ago. "Scarlett?"

"And your surname dear." Landon Reid asked. He knew instantly that she didn't recognize for as soon as the words ushered from his mouth, her eyes turned into a mix of emotions and her face fell. Fear, uncertainty, and desperation clouded her emerald eyes as her bottom lip quivered faintly.

Tears of frustration poured from her jaded orbs. "I…I don't know." Scarlett finally admitted, her eyes swimming in tears. "I only knew my first name because she said it." She made a slight movement with her head toward Sister Mary Margaret, her tears intensifying to sobs. "Why can't I remember? Why am I in so much pain?"

"It's alright, Scarlett darling, don't cry." Careen said taking her sister's hand in an effort to comfort her, "I'm your sister, Careen, I'll help you Scarlett, don't worry. I'll help you."

Landon began toying with his silver moustache, deep in thought. He and his assist had a difficult time deciphering who she was. Even now, it was difficult to understand how they did identify her for it was a rather long line of she knows him and he know this one and so on. It started when Caro Rhett, a former friend of Cathleen Calvert came into town with her husband a week and a half ago and heard of the incident from Reginald Mullen, a former colleague. Caro then told Hetty Tarleton, who she still carried some sort of correspondence, of the unidentified woman in the ghastly accident who then went on to tell Honey Wilkes who spread the terrible news to her sister India and Aunt Pittypat Hamilton overheard as well as Ashley Wilkes. Ashley asked Tony Fontaine if he had heard of the terrible accident who then went on to tell Rene Picard who told his wife. His wife then told Emily Butler, who she had become close friends with over the last year. Emily then told her neighbor Adrienne Finklehorn who told her cousin Eliza Hating. Eliza went on to tell Dimity Monroe who was volunteering in the hospital in another wing. She had heard of the accident and had recognized Scarlett instantly. She was then sworn to secrecy by Careen who was found two weeks earlier. Dimity was renowned for keeping secrets, so Careen wasn't worried.

Doctor Reid shook his head, placing his pointer and middle fingers on his temple. It was too confusing to even think about at the moment. He had to think of what he would do with Mrs. O'Hara. He wasn't sure how long her memory loss would last; that created a more difficult problem.

He glanced at the two sisters; Scarlett was listening intently, her emerald eyes glittering like a small child hearing a new story, as Careen told her about her mother, pa, and her sister Suellen. At least Scarlett has Sister Mary Margaret, he thought, most who come here have no one.

-------

There was a soft knock on the large oak door that led into the foyer. Miss Eleanor sighed lightly, placing her delicate sewing on the table before her and glancing at the door to the parlor. Another sigh escaped her lips; she was so worried about her son. Ever since Scarlett had appeared sobbing from that very room not more than a few weeks ago, he had been indulging himself with liquor enough for three men. She in fact had to sequester the alcohol from her home with the assist of Henry, her butler.

That stormy night in which her daughter in law and come and gone so quickly was the night she had seen her son look so confused. She had come into the room to check up on him to find he was holding a small square of linen in his hands staring absent-mindedly into space, deep in thought.

She never dared ask about her son's marriage to the vivacious Scarlett O'Hara, but she knew the relation was coming quickly to a close. The both looked so emotionally tired that day, so ready to give up, especially Scarlett. She looked drained and heart broken.

Miss Eleanor shook her head slowly, now was not the time to think of such things, there was someone awaiting her at the door. Slowly she pulled herself up and approached the door, her poise faultless as always. She reached for the doorknob, smiling when the two beings that came fort greeted her with such warmth.

"Hello mother," Emily said smiling at her mother-in-law, on the arm of her husband Ross. "I'm sorry our visit is on such short notice, but Ross and I thought it would be wonderful to see you, Rhett, and Rosemary again. It has been so long."

"Come in! Come in, I'll have Bessie prepare us all afternoon tea." Miss Eleanor usually had constant company, but it was so good to see her son and his wife again. It was refreshing to see a relationship go right in her family rather than the association between her favored son and his wife. Sadness crept into her eyes at the thought of her son's unhappiness. "I'll go fetch Rhett."

Emily laid a tiny hand on her mother in laws arm as she asked in one word, Ross rolling his dark eyes slightly."Still?"

Ross had had enough with the sulking of his 'perfect' brother. He knew it was only a ploy to obtain notice and get Charleston's acceptance once more. Rhett didn't know the meaning of love, nor, did Ross think, he even cared a smidgen for the poor woman. No gentleman would just leave his wife after what she had gone through, but then again, Ross thought spitefully, Rhett is not a gentleman.

Miss Eleanor nodded, "Make yourselves comfortable while I see if I can coax him from the dining room." With that she departed for the large oak doors, which she knew, encased her favorite child as Emily and Ross made their way into the library having a soft conversation.

Sighing, Miss Eleanor let herself in the dark room to find her son sitting lazily in a high-backed, golden tinted chair, his deep eyes gazed absentmindedly out the great casement. He was lost deep in thought one large hand still grasping the plain, now brandy spattered linen.

Her heart went out to the broken man before her. Never had she seen him loose the glistening spark of life in his eyes or the way he joked about everything. This was not the son she knew. The two people had broken each other long ago, maybe not intentionally, but ruined each other nonetheless.

"Rhett," Miss Eleanor said quietly to her son, watching him as he turned his head toward her and feigned a slight smile, his eyes bloodshot from liquor. "Emily and Ross have come calling. Come, son, it will do you good to get out of this area, to have some company."

Eleanor Butler could not suppress the surprise she underwent when he instantaneously stood and made his way to her. She would have expected a protest as she had before, but no, he was agreeing. He came up to her and offered it like a son should, leading Miss Eleanor from the dungeon that imprisoned him as well as his haunting thoughts.

As soon as the two came forth from the darkened room, they could hear the loud and excited voice of Rhett's younger sister, Rosemary. "It seems as if Rosemary has gotten to the family before we could. Pray she doesn't get on the subject of Dunmore Landing." Rhett joked to Eleanor's utter shock.

For the next few moments Miss Eleanor was incredibly confused and her face portrayed it. She stared straight ahead of her, her mouth open slightly and her brows furrowed. Miss Eleanor was ecstatic that her son was joking again, but what had caused the sudden transition, she would never know.

"Hello Emily," Rhett said taking his sister-in-laws hand and bowing his head so his lips were a good two inches from her pale flesh and bony fingers. "Ross." He nodded curtly toward his brother and each shook the others strong. Neither noted the hurt and sadness he was continuing to feel as he expertly masked his emotions and feigning a large smile.

"It's good to see you in good health again, Rhett. If I recall the last time we called, you were feeling quite ill." Emily smiled, and tried to sound as if she knew nothing of the situation he and his wife were going through even though the whole town was quite aware. He wanted nothing to do with the beauty he had married some years ago.

"Thank you for taking notice. Yes, I had quite the infection, I didn't want to make you two ill, but enough talk of the past. How have you two been?" Rhett said, but in trying to steer the topic of Scarlett from the conversation, he used her life philosophy. 'I can't think about it now. I'll think about it later when I can stand it.' No one saw the sadness dance across his dark eyes.

Bessie then entered the room carrying a rather large tray of tea as Emily responded, "Everyone is just fine at home, thank you." She smiled at her husband. "Oh, but I did hear this terribly sad account from Maybelle Picard. Dreadful, truly dreadful."

"Gossip now is it? I fear, Ross, that we are well out of this loop now my brother." Rhett said chuckling lightly to himself.

"What happened, Emily, dear?" Rosemary asked ignoring her brother's comment, taking a delicate cup with gold embroidering around the edge and intricate swirls on the base off the tray. "Has something happened to their family?"

"No, but she said she heard that there was a terrible accident down on the Battery no less than two weeks ago." Emily took a sip of tea before continuing, "She said it was the night of the downpour, do you remember that night? Well, Maybelle said that there was a carriage out in the rain that night, but whoever had taken a ride, I daresay has got to be daft. Continuing, there was a woman in it and the coach when wheels gave out in the rain and the stagecoach collapsed around her. The woman has been unconscious since, but no one knows the poor dear, she was visiting from out of town and no one can identify her."

"How terrible! The poor woman!" Rosemary exclaimed, her deep eyes wide, covering her mouth with her right hand and placing down her delicate cup so she wouldn't spill its contents due to her trembling hands.

"I feel horrid for the woman's family, they must be worried sick over her whereabouts." Eleanor and Rosemary nodded their heads and there was an extended moment of silence before Ross spoke for the first time.

"Rhett, how is your wife? Scarlett is the name, correct?" The look on Ross Butler's face was none other than smug. He knew everything out his brother's marital state, yet he wanted to see his brother fall. Wanted to see him fall and stutter for Ross despised his brother. He was the epitome of the 'perfect child' and now look who was failing.

Rhett turned his head toward his brother, his eyes blazing with fury and his fists clenched tight. The muscle in his jaw was flexed noticeably; he looked murderous. How dare he! How _dare _he! No one was to speak of Scarlett! He wanted to wring his brother's neck, but instead, Rhett strode from the room slamming the door behind him, the story of the accident completly forgotten.

"Ross!" Eleanor scolded, slapping her boy on the arm, "What in God's name is the matter with you! You know he's having a difficult time and yet you persist on…"

"I'm ashamed of you Ross." Emily said cutting Miss Eleanor off, "upsetting your bother like that."

Everyone began to reprimand Ross for his words, save for young Rosemary who had followed her brother from the room to comfort the broken man.

**A/N- I had to throw in a few created characters in there too, for as hard as it may seem, I ran out of characters. I hope this is enjoyable for I'm loosing interest in this story and quickly for it's going much slower than anticipated and I feel I rushed this chapter a bit. **

**Please review and make my day!**


	13. The Children

**A/N- Thank you** **greensapphire for reminding me of Rene Picard's wives name. I knew it ended with belle ahah! Thank you all my reviewers! The response really makes my day! **

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Thirteen**

Days turned to weeks in which Scarlett began her slow and somewhat recovery. By a miracle, her internal bleeding ceased and healed nearly automatically and her collarbone was well on its way to mending, but not all her injuries were as immediate. Her right leg had undergone much pressure and she was unable to move it.

Doctor Reid and Careen soon realized Scarlett could not be left unsupervised. One day after therapy, she had attempted to get out of bed and walk around the room for her legs were terribly sore. She was like a child who wanted desperately to get outside after sickness. Scarlett got out of the minute divan with ease, sliding her way onto her left foot, but as soon as weight hit her right side, her knees buckled and she fell to the hard, cold ground on her spine, screaming in wracking pain.

Arlene Lombardi, a 29-year-old nurse, was assigned to Scarlett after her walking incident to prevent any other damage as well giving the lonesome woman friendship. The Doctor had many patients and Careen had to go back to the convent during most of the day, a time in which Scarlett became very melancholy with no companionship. She sat alone, buried in the coverlet, watching the people walk down the street merrily, sighing, wishing she too could be socializing.

As the weeks inched by, the two women became the best of friends. They were always in each other's company, gossiping and laughing about the most peculiar things. But the oddest conversation had taken place no less than two days after Scarlett's awakening. Arlene and Careen were conversing quietly while Scarlett stared out the window.

_"Careen?" Scarlett asked, continuing to watch the rays of sun cast their blinding light onto the casement, shimmering beautifully with dew from that morn. "You said we had very many friends back when we were in our teen aged years, correct?"_

_"Yes, Scarlett," Careen answered, coming closer to her sister's bed. "Why do you ask?"_

_Scarlett pried her emerald colored eyes away from the shimmering glass to look her sister in the eyes and ask. "Was Melanie Hamilton one of them?"_

_Careen nearly fell over in shock. She gripped the back of the chair she was standing next to, staring at her sister in confusion and happiness. She remembered! Scarlett's memory loss was gone! "Yes, Scarlett, you even lived with her and Aunt Pity for a few years. Do you remember?"_

_Scarlett shook her head slowly, and Careen's confusion deepened and a fear entered her eyes. Was her sister crazy? "I was talking to her, before I came into consciousness a few days ago. We were in a stunning garden, but that's all I have committed to memory. What happened to her Careen? Is she still alive?"_

_Careen took her sister's hand, confusion still imbedded her hazel eyes, to comfort her unknowing sister as she whispered sadly, "No, my dear, she passed on seven months ago." _

Ever since that day, Careen and Arlene had endeavored to regain her sister's memory to no avail, even though Arlene didn't know much of Scarlett's past, merely the information that Careen told her. Careen had told her stories of Tara, their mother and papa, Suellen, even Twelve Oakes; anything just to spark her memory. They even used the aroma of lemon verbena, but nothing triggered her memory.

There was a part of Careen that wanted Scarlett to retain information and yet the majority of her that didn't. Scarlett was a brave woman, but maybe too brave for her own good. She had always taken charge when times were tough and she had been so strong for so long, but Careen wasn't sure she could handle all of the heartache she had endured again. First Mama then it was Papa, whom she was the closest with, Bonnie then Melanie and now her husband wanted to leave her. Careen shook her head at the thought.

Careen had trusted Scarlett's past with Arlene, telling her of everything that had partaken since her sixteenth birthday. Arlene was nothing other than surprised, but she understood Scarlett and admired her the more; She too reviled her contemptible husband Rhett Butler, leaving his wife when she was mourning. Scandalous!

Sister Mary Margaret and Arlene Lombardi had silently vowed to keep the story of her husband a secret to the unknowing girl. The less she knew about him, or her other husbands for that matter, the less she would hurt and regret actions she wouldn't remember.

Of course the women informed her vaguely about her fist two husbands, also telling her of her two beautiful children, Wade Hampton and Ella Lorena, whom the women had gone to see to explain their mother's situation. Scarlett was ecstatic when she heard she had children and immediately wanted to know everything about them and wanted to see them desperately.

The next week, Pauline and Eulaine Robilliard brought their great niece and nephew to call upon their mother in the hospital. Ella had rushed into his mother's open arms crying and telling her how worried she was, while Wade gasped at seeing his mother's bruised and broken body lying atop heaps of coverlets.

"Wade?" Scarlett asked as she helped Ella up onto the bed to sit next to her, Ella's face lighting up, so happy to see her mother again, to know she wasn't dead. She had waited that day her mother went to her friend's house for hours for her mother's return, but she didn't come. After a week and a half, she still didn't come back and Ella thought that she had died like Aunt Melly. Oh, how she cried in her pillow at night. "Are you frightened of me?"

Wade shook his head, coming closer to his tattered, bruised and mangled mother, "No, Momma, I'm not frightened, but it looks like you went through much pain."

Scarlett motioned the boy closer to her as she wrapped her battered left arm around her daughter, smiling at them both. Wade found his way into the embrace she had drawn both children into. "Momma was in so much pain, dears, but I'm better now, don't fret.

"I do, however, require your assist," Scarlett smiled at her beautiful children and ruffled Ella's ginger tresses gently. "I don't know if Aunt Careen or Miss Arlene told you, but Momma doesn't recollect anything from before the accident I was in. I need your help to educate me the things you most like again and help with names. Can you do that?"

The two children glanced at each other excitedly and stuck out their chins with pride, their eyes sparkling with confidence that their mother had entrusted a job to them, as Ella said, "Wade and I can do it mother. We'll be the best helpers ever."

Scarlett chuckled lovingly at her daughter pulling the children closer to her. The poor children, having no idea where their mother was for so long. Never again would she leave her children alone, she had known them for less than a few minutes and she already loved them so, so very much. "I know you will, darlings. I know you will."

**A/N- I know it's going quite slow, but I do hope my readers will stick with me!**

**Please review!**


	14. Unexpected Letters

**A/N- I must apologies; I am in not a historian in any way, shape, or form. I understand that I am not the best writer but I do have plans for what I wrote in the last chapter. Plans which I will reveal in this and later chapters.**

**To all my other reviewers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your reviews are what keep me going! Thank you for sticking with me.**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Fourteen**

Days turned to weeks and weeks inched slowly by into long months before Scarlett was released from the hospital. She was ecstatic for she hadn't felt the sunlight on her face for a good three months. She missed the warm sensation of the rays of light caressing her face affectionately.

That glorious day, Scarlett, Careen, Eulaine and Pauline, the children, and Arlene accompanied Scarlett to the home she had had built two months prior. The home, however did not reside in Charleston, but Chattanooga, Tennessee. Careen had advised Scarlett convincingly that she didn't want her living in South Carolina; Careen hadn't led her astray in the week's prior, so she did not argue.

It was decided by Doctor Reid that Scarlett was still not to be left alone, so it was determined Arlene would be residing with Scarlett in the five-bedroom home she now owned. Scarlett was glad, for Arlene and she had become the very best of friends, and she would give Scarlett some companionship.

Scarlett had all she wanted, a wonderful comrade, magnificent relationships with her beautiful children and a good quality existence, but she still could not shake a emotion that had been growing in her heart for weeks and weeks on end. Loneliness, she was lonesome. She was familiar with his less than pleasant emotion for she endured it day in and day out. Her heart ached for something, something she didn't understand, an emotion she didn't know.

Some days, the tearing emotion in her heart was so overpowering that she did not have the will to do anything but sit an a large, comfortable chair in the study of her knew home, contemplating the sentiment while staring out the large bay window which overlooked a lush green plot.

Other days it was as if Scarlett were a new person; all the distressing feeling forgotten, just like all of her past. She would laugh with her children and talk with Arlene. These days were extremely often, but on the days she was 'off', you could do nothing. She went into a world that could not be disrupted by nothing or no one.

Today was one of Scarlett's good days. She had awakened that morning in the large featherbed, in her quaint home, smiling to herself. Scarlett was happy which was quite ironic, for if she had been in her right mind, she would have know that today was the 9 month anniversary of Rhett leaving her.

"Momma!" Ella shrieked merrily, her crème colored nightgown rustling as she ran and jumped atop her mother's soft bed, hopping up and down on its thick edge. The child pealed with laughter as Scarlett began to tickle her daughter's sides, one of her best tickle spots Scarlett had found out.

"Good morning, my dear!" Scarlett exclaimed over her daughter's cries of laughter, a smile on her bright features, "How has your morning been thus far? Have you by now woken up your brother?"

Ella nodded as Scarlett ceased her morning ritual with her daughter. "Yes, momma I have!" Ella exclaimed proudly, sticking out her chin a bit breathless. Ella was ecstatic when her mother granted her the task of waking up her elder brother. "I woke Wade up ages ago, but momma I'm so hungry!"

Scarlett threw back her ebony haired head with hilarity, her silky locks falling elegantly down past her shoulders. "My, darling, I conjecture this means you want me up so we can have breakfast together then, huh?" Scarlett asked ruffling her daughter's ginger coppers lovingly.

Ella nodded vigorously, her dull green eyes illuminating. "Please hurry mother! Wade told me this morning that when my tummy grumbles and hurts that the large bear in my belly is eating my insides because it's so hungry!"

"Well then, my dear, we have to time to lose! We won't have that awful bear eating your insides now, I promise. Now let's get you and me dressed so we can feed that teddy in your tummy." Scarlett smiled and poked her daughter's stomach, watching her giggle.

Scarlett went to go fetch Josephine, the new maid Scarlett had hired a mere few weeks ago by a woman who requested her, the upstairs of the new home ringing with merriment while downstairs in the foyer, things were not so joyous.

------

Arlene had been up early that morning, coming from her room dressed in daytime attire at 5:30 in the morn, checking that everything was in order when there was a soft knock on the front of the oak door after the dying sound of hooves against gravel.

Arlene made her way to the entrance leisurely, opening it silently to reveal a rather tall man with a chestnut mare tied to the gate a few feet away. "Hello, sir." Arlene said placing down a pitcher of ice water for breakfast on a small side table. "Can I help you?"

The man glanced into the picturesque foyer, never moving from his stance in front of the door, curiously glancing in, as if pondering something. "This is the residence of Scarlett O'Hara, is it not?" When Arlene nodded suspiciously, the sandy blonde haired man brandished a letter from the breast pocket of his large jacket. "This is from Mrs. O'Hara's lawyer back in Atlanta. It's very urgent, please deliver it to her as soon as possible."

That was it; there was no time for the nurse and confidant to react. The blonde man strode to his steed, mounting it with some difficulty due to the fact that he had a maimed leg, from the dreadful war Ms. Lombardi had assumed. Arlene let out a breath she had not realized she was holding in. For a few moments, she had thought it was Scarlett's husband.

Arlene glanced down at the large manila envelope and soon realized that this was probably worse. Attached to the envelope was a telegram, which the man had forgotten to take, it read: JOSEPH RILEY STOP DELIVER TO NIECE S O'HARA STOP SEE IF DOING WELL STOP WORRIED ABOUT HER AFTER THIS STOP HENRY HAMILTON

The nurse crumpled up the telegram in her hand and clutched it tightly as she glanced at the envelope only to nearly drop it in shock. On the top left hand corner in looped writing, read Rhett Butler, Charleston. Arlene gulped as she saw the characters that were scribbled across the heart of the packet; Scarlett O'Hara c/o Henry Hamilton.

Arlene knew exactly what it was even before the seal was even opened, they were divorce papers. The woman knew Scarlett wouldn't understand them, she didn't even know she had a husband and how horrible would it be to find out through divorce papers! No, Arlene decided, she wasn't going to give them to Scarlett, it was for her own good.

There was shuffling of feet racing down the stairs and Arlene's eyes widened and she shielded the letters with her back putting on false guise of calm. "Good morning Wade and Ella, how was your sleep last night dears?" The two children glanced up at their mother's friend smiling and answering her questions with 'very wells' and then racing each other into the kitchen.

Arlene could hear Scarlett coming down the polish wooden staircase, chuckling at her children's behavior. Without thinking, Arlene glanced around the room and when finding a drawer in the small mahogany writing table a few yards away, she shoved the mail clumsily into it, and closing it quickly with nothing more than a slight thud. The nurse turned just in time to smile at her comrade and say, as if nothing were amiss, "Good morning, Scarlett."

**A/N- I hope this chapter was enjoyable! Please review to give constructive critism.**


	15. Romeo and Juliet

**A/N- Thank you for the reviews! They're what help me keep going!**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Fifteen**

One year. One year and six months had past since Rhett left Scarlett and a year had slowly but surely gone by. There was still no sign of remembrance in the jaded eyed woman and by this time doctors doubted highly that there ever would. Today, the eighteen-month anniversary of Rhett's departure, Scarlett could feel nothing but a nagging feeling, almost like a pain, in her heart.

Still Scarlett did not understand this feeling. She didn't understand how her heart could yearn for something but her mind be oblivious to whom or what that thing was. It was almost as if her heart knew something she didn't.

The whole week prior to the anniversary, Scarlett sat in a great fireside chair in her quaint little study, watching as thick white clouds floated nonchalantly through the sea of blue, creating shape upon shape. Scarlett found it soother her to surveillance everything from the window, she felt like a child again.

Scarlett did not eat, nor did she sleep very much, which explained the large dark circles surrounding her emerald eyes. She was exhausted, but no matter what she did, sleep would not permit; she would just lay awake all night staring at the ceiling becoming exceedingly frustrated with herself for not remembering anything.

By day six Arlene could no longer take her friend in such a heartbroken and saddened state. She tried everything, everything from gossip to shopping for groceries, but nothing worked, Scarlett continued to remain like a shell of the being she was.

Arlene Lombardi had heard continuous rumors of a performance company coming to town. She remembered that Scarlett had once told her many months ago that she had no recollection of going to a play and Arlene though it would be a wonderful way to brighten Scarlett's spirits.

The nurse and confidant purchased three tickets: One for Scarlett and one for each of her children. Mother and children needed to spend time together again, for the children, she knew, felt incredibly rejected. They were so used to their mother being perky and jovial all the time and they didn't prefer this mother.

Wade and Ella may have been young children, but they were not daft as most elder people thought. They remembered vividly the mother that was before the accident and after their Aunt Melly's death. The recalled never once seeing their Uncle Rhett whom they now held in _very_ low esteem. The children had come to the conclusion long, long ago that Uncle Rhett was the being their mother wept for every night into her soft pillow a year or so ago. Their feelings for their stepfather had grown more and more hateful with each passing day, so much so now that they refused to speak his name.

Arlene confided Wade and Ella of her plan and they were both ecstatic, they had never seen a performance before and they wanted so much for their mother to get back to normal, to fool around with them again.

Arlene approached Scarlett the night before the performance, startled by the look of her. She was so pale and gaunt from not eating in a little over a week that she looked almost ghost like. "Scarlett," Arlene said, "Scarlett I have a surprise for you."

Scarlett glanced over her shoulder and smiled at her best friend, excited for she had not had a surprise in so long. The nagging in her heart forgotten as her friend smiled back. "Oh, Lene, what is it? You can't leave me guessing!"

"You've been ever so down lately Scarlett." Arlene paused as Scarlett nodded. "I had heard rumors of a company coming into Tennessee and I purchased you three tickets. One for you, one for Wade and one for little Ella. You had told me you didn't remember seeing a show and I thought it would be the prefect time."

Scarlett's eyes widened like a children receiving candy, "Oh, Lene! Thank you so much, I haven't been this excited in months!" Scarlett paused, contemplating, "But what about you? I'd feel horrible if you were home here alone while the Wade, Ella, and I went out. Please, come with us."

Arlene laughed at her friend, "That's alright Scarlett, I have much to do here and it would be a wonderful opportunity to converse with your children again. They have been quite lonely with you in your state lately."

Scarlett nodded and hugged her friend, "Thank you so very much Arlene, you don't know how much this means to me."

Scarlett stood and walked from the room in lighter spirits. The pain forgotten in her heart and a smile on her face. It was true, she had not been this excited in months and was anticipating the time in which she and her children would be at the theater.

------

"Come on my darlings," Scarlett called from the stairs fastening a shimmering bracelet to her thin. She was dressed in a deep emerald satin dress with little gold embroidery. The fabric hugged her curves and she could honestly say she had never felt more beautiful. "If you don't hurry, we're going to be late and the stagecoach is getting might impatient."

In a matter of a few seconds, Ella and Wade came bolting down the stairs, Ella's hair flying wildly behind her. Scarlett chuckled as she fixed up her children. Ella's little pink dress was a bit wrinkled at the hem from stepping on it slightly and Wade had what seemed like a ball of lint on his jacket.

"Momma!' Ella griped as she began toying with her daughter's hem. Ella stilled her mother's hands as she grabbed them off her hem and pulled her behind her. "Momma come on lets go! Wade's already in the carriage and he bet me that I would be the last one in."

Scarlett laughed as she allowed her daughter to pull her. Scarlett had given Arlene the night to herself and she had gone for a stroll, saying before she left to be careful and have a wonderful time, but she was going to have a magnificent time tonight, she already knew.

Scarlett and Ella settled into the carriage and instantly Ella and Wade began to chat away with each other. Scarlett chuckled and listened to their childish and witty banter and before any of them knew it, they were at the grand theater.

The three of them were quieted by it'd size and beauty. The green paint, which was covering the walls, was the color of Ella's dull emerald eyes. There were pillars and gold plated objects everywhere. Angels were painted on the walls and ceiling delicately and with such preciseness the pictures seemed inhuman.

Scarlett took her eyes from the images and looked about at the people around her. They were all so sophisticated as she and very graceful. It seemed as if the women were gliding along the carpet rather than walking to their seats. She couldn't believe it.

Suddenly, Scarlett felt a small tug on her emerald bell sleeve and looked down to see Ella. "Momma, can we go sit? My feet are very tired and my dress is heavy."

Scarlett chuckled and scooped up her light daughter in her arms, staggering somewhat and grasping Wade's hand in her own, "Of course baby, I do say my feet are quite tired as well and I do think the performance is about to begin."

The three made their way slowing into the auditorium, handing the man who stood unbelievably erect in handsome eveningwear their tickets. The man glanced down at them and sighed, beckoning them to follow his lead. After much dodging of the crowd, they came across a narrow staircase. "Follow this up and make a left, you are box three. I must say Madame you have magnificent seats. Enjoy the performance."

Scarlett nodded slightly to the man, her heart pounding; she was keyed up. Placing Ella back down on the ground, she took her daughter's petite hand and her son's large one, taking off up the narrow winding staircase.

Scarlett nearly choked when she reached her seats, her jaw hanging open slightly. The stage was just was beautiful as the building itself, which she thought to be almost impossible. The red velvet curtains, which were draped down casually to the stage, were ruffled at the edges and looked exquisite.

Getting her children settled, Scarlett sat sandwiched between them, each using their mother as a pillow. It was comparatively late for the children, Scarlett had realized. She watched as Ella dozed of sleepily, trying desperately to stay alert, fighting off sleepiness with determination.

Ella looked up at her mother as Scarlett smiled down at her. Ella smiled back in return as Scarlett scooped the ginger haired child and set her on her lap. "I know your tired Ella, dear. Go to sleep and I'll wake you when it's over."

"No, Momma." Ella said defiantly, smiling again, "I want to stay up and watch the play with you. I'm a big girl, I can do it."

Scarlett chortled, smoothing down the child's unruly hair. "I have no doubt that you can stay up, darling. I'm glad you're here with me Wade and Ella, I would have been so lonely without you two."

The children beamed as the lights dimmed and the curtain rose. A Venetian street played before their eyes. Scarlett glanced down at her ticket. ROMEO AND JULIET it read in thick, bold letters. She had never heard of it before, or maybe she had, but she had no recollection what so ever.

As Scarlett watched the tragedy, she could feel wetness on her cheeks. These poor people; they loved each other wholeheartedly and their parents didn't approve. How could they? How could they just kill their children by not letting them love? It was preposterous.

"Excuse me." Scarlett heard a thick drawl behind her and felt someone tap her shoulder impatiently. "I believe you are in the wrong seat, ma'am."

Scarlett turned around in her seat with one hand covering her mouth as she stared up at an extremely handsome man. He had dark, dark hair and a black moustache that hugged his upper lip. His black eyes, which originally held somewhat annoyance, now widened and his jaw dropped slightly.

"Oh, silly me." Scarlett sniffled and laughed at herself, picking up the slumbering Ella and getting Wade gently to his feet. "Please accept my apologies sir, I meant no inconvenience."

Scarlett turned and left before Rhett could say anything else. She hadn't realized, nor had she remembered whom she was speaking too. Confusion and happiness enveloped Rhett's mind. He couldn't believe it, he had found her. After all this time, he had found her!

Many months ago Rhett had a revelation; he knew he loved his wife. He had sent divorce papers to her law office and as soon as he put the transaction through, he regretted it. He loved her, and he knew it; he was only hurting himself. He made it his mission eight months ago to find Scarlett and after much searching he had found her by accident.

Suddenly ovation sounded throughout the theater as the performers took their final bows. The performers bowed once again and the curtain fell limply to the ground as everyone around and below him began to exit the theater.

Rhett jumped up, he needed to speak with Scarlett. Pushing and shoving his way through the crowd he made his way into entrance hallway. That's when he spotted her and his breath caught in his throat. She looked beautiful with the flattering emerald dress she was wearing with long gloved that reached up past her elbow.

Ella had woken up nearly twenty minutes prior and was prattling on, staring up at her mother telling her how much she loved the play and that she had a lovely time. Scarlett smiled down at her daughter; a gesture Rhett had rarely seen her perform.

"What did you think Wade?" Scarlett asked, the corners of her lips tipping downward slightly almost as if playfully mocking her son.

Wade went blank for a moment, thinking of a good excuse as to why he had fallen asleep. "It was…fine I guess."

Scarlett threw her head back and laughed loudly, ruffling her son's chocolate colored hair, her jade eyes dancing with laughter. "You don't need to fib Wade, darling. I heard you snoring for a while. I'm not angry, I didn't think you would like it anyway."

Wade too smiled, enjoying the jest as Ella scanned the room once more as to paint the images of this night in her mind for life. Suddenly her dull green eyes rolled over a man who was staring at her with a loving smile.

Forgetting her previous anger toward her stepfather momentarily she disentangled her fingers from her mother's and waved enthusiastically at him. Even though she was furious with him, Ella could help but miss him slight. Her Uncle Rhett was the only father she ever knew. Ella grabbed her mother's sleeve and tugged it hard saying, "Momma, Momma!"

Scarlett turned confusion and worry in her sparking eyes, "What is it Ella?" Scarlett asked kneeling so she was face to face with her daughter tilting her head slightly to the side. "Is something wrong? What's the matter?"

Ella glanced at her mother and unexpectedly images of her sobbing into her pillow and thrashing in her sleep, calling out for the man who never came filled her mind. Ella's exuberance turned to stone cold hatred as she narrowed her eyes and glared at the man she called once called father, desgusted. "Nothing, Momma, it's not worth mentioning."

**A/N- I know this chapter is a little fast, and I apologize for that. I hope that despite the quickness it is enjoyable. Please review!**


	16. Unknown Visitor

**A/N- Thank you so much for the reviews! They are what keep me going!**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Sixteen**

Arlene stood before the desk in the foyer, guilt gnawing at her conscience. Ever since that man, Joseph Riley, delivered those divorce papers nine months previous, there have been numerous small letters delivered by many different beings. The mail sat strewn in the oak drawer, collecting much dust and turning an odd yellowed color.

Arlene opened the drawer warily to see twelve letters at the least either crumpled slightly due to rapid closing of the drawer, or sticking together because of the intense drought Tennessee had as of late been undergoing.

Unexpectedly there was a rather loud knock against the front door causing Arlene to jump a good two feet in the air, shutting the petite drawer unintentionally noisily as she did so. Arlene glanced at the clock which hung not far away, eight o' clock. Who would be calling at eight o' clock and it's not as if anyone could see Scarlett for she was still sleeping as well as the children who had returned tremendously late last night.

Pulling herself together, Arlene guardedly made her way to the door, opening it. Before her stood a tall man with dark hair and eyes, which seemed to dance with laughter as Arlene sighed and whispered too quietly to be heard, "Not another one."

"Good morning Madame." The man smiled peculiarly with the ends of his lips twisting downward and bowed slightly at the waist. "Would this happen to be Miss O'Hara's residence?"

Arlene gripped the edge of the door and took in a deep breath, her brown hoop skirt rustling slightly. Something about this man, she didn't trust; not one bit. "Yes, but what ever errand you are running for whom ever you are running it for, you may keep it. Please, just keep it."

His thick, dark eyebrows shot up and his smile was gone, seriousness clouding his handsome features. "I can assure you, I am not on an errand, Miss…" He paused so she could identify her name, but instead she answered him by too raising her thick strawberry blonde brows.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"

Rhett smiled coyly, his dark eyes glinting, brushing off a piece of lint from his shoulder. "I have an incredibly important message from Miss O'Hara's husband."

Rhett began to make his way into the hall when Arlene stepped in his way, a stolid expression on her face. "Is he dying?" She asked, for that was the only possible way he would enter, and even then, she wouldn't desire him here.

Rhett could read Miss. Lombardi's face quite easily. He touched a finger to his lips, tapping them for a few moments as if pondering, but Arlene knew he was doing nothing of the sort. "Now, Madame he very well could be, but now you'll never know considering to circumstances." Rhett glanced at the doorframe them the porch he was standing on.

Arlene sighed, and stepped aside looking up, and mumbling a slight. "Come in."

Rhett began to make his way into the parlor where he assumed Scarlett would be eating breakfast, noticing how quaint and modest the house was, but Arlene's voice stopped him in his tracks. "If you're looking for Miss O'Hara, she has not yet awoken for she was away from home last night."

Rhett turned, that peculiar smile again on his lips, his eyes dancing once more. "Ah, I see, so sleeping beauty had not yet awoken." He began heading toward the stairs, having an odd spring in his step; uncertainty and happiness…

"Excuse me, sir!" Arlene shriek running after him stopping at the foot of the staircase. "That is not proper, you can wait down here. Who, may I ask sir, do you think you are?"

"Well, I know I am Rhett Butler." He mockingly answered her question over his broad shoulder covered in a soft black fabric. There were no other words uttered by Arlene Lombardi, for her hand over her mouth, which was agape, allowed no sound to pass through. She had just allowed Scarlett's husband in the house.

------

Scarlett lay in her large, yielding bed, her ebony hair spilling out around her face in addition to her body consumed in deep fatigue. Oh, she was so exhausted as of last night, not to state humiliated. Unable to ascertain your correct seat! How thwarting, and the gentleman seemed quite exasperated too.

Scarlett heard the door creak in her sleep and let out a grunt to signalized she required seclusion at the moment. She wanted to sleep! Scarlett remembered when she was like this; it was consequent to her carriage incident. She recalled that she was unable to move her limbs no matter how hard she tried and it seemed as if her eyelids were permanently glued together.

Rhett watched as her chest rose and fell lightly in slumber. No matter how many times he had mentally and physically told himself he despised her and would for the rest of his life, he missed her against his strong resolve. He missed her smile, her laugh, her voice. He missed the way the used to gibe with each other, but those days were long gone…

He watched as she turned over onto her stomach, burring her face in a soft feathery pillow, her knotted hair going every which way. He found a chair in a corner of the room and took a seat, watching her petite little figure all the while.

He had to resist the urge to wake her and make her look into his eyes. He needed to apologize, for she was right. They both had their fair share of corruption of their marriage, and he was just as much to blame, and maybe more.

He stood from the chair and made his way to her divan, where he sat on its edge and stroked her hair gently. She turned toward him in her sleep and he could feel a small smile form on his lips. He reached out his hand uncertainly and caressed her smooth cheek lovingly.

Scarlett smiled and sighed out through her small nose, unhurriedly reaching up sleepily to see what was tickling her face. A rough yet gentle hand found her grasp and her ebony brows furrowed, her heart beat quickening. Her eyes snapped open; she was fully awake now. The emeralds, which were called eyes widened with fear as she let out a blood-curdling scream of terror.

Surprised by her abrupt act, Rhett jumped back slightly as Scarlett hurriedly threw off her covers and stood, her hands balled in fists in front of her. Who was this man and why was he in her house? Oh Lord, she thought her heart beating furiously with trepidation, help me.

Rhett took a step toward her, sadness and confusion in his dark eyes. He straightened and went to grab her arm whispering questioningly "Scarlett…", but she only took large steps backwards, screaming again.

"How do you know my name and how did you get into my house!" She screamed backing up farther and knocking down a decorated vase with Victorian flowers and silver designs at the base, but that was the least of her worries at the moment.

His confusion growing deeper, Rhett's eyebrows furrowed once more and asked again moving closer to her, "Scarlett, what in the Lord's name are you talking about?"

Scarlett's back hit the small fireplace she had had installed for the winter, her spine tingling in pain. She was cornered and had no place to go with this man come closer and closer. Her hands traveled behind her back and stumbled upon a cold piece of metal. Her hands clumsily made their way down the object and she soon discovered it was a fire poker.

Scarlett tugged fiercely on it, causing the stand it was hanging on to tumble over. Scarlett flipped the weapon in her hands and crouched slightly, the razor-sharp edge mere inches away from his abdomen. Rhett instantaneously threw up his hands a glint of fear in his eyes.

"Scarlett, put that down and listen to me…"

"Who are you?" Scarlett shrieked shoving the long metal poker out farther. "What do you want from me? Money? Food? Please, ill give you anything, just please leave my family and my friend alone!" A thought filled her mind and she narrowed her eyes in fury, screaming. "If you harmed my children in any way, I'll kill you! Do you hear me? I'll kill you!"

Rhett had never seen her like this. He knew he had hurt her desperately, but he never thought she would kill him in her fury. Rhett kept his hands up and began to back away slowly. "Scarlett, dear, I've done nothing to your children. Put the poker down, so we can talk."

"Who are you?" She shrieked again, "Get out of my house! Get out!" She screamed, jabbing Rhett in the stomach with the metal poker hard causing him to double over.

Scarlett gripped the weapon in her hands, bolting for her bedroom door and throwing it open as the unfamiliar man kneeled on the floor in pain. The only thing on Scarlett's mind was getting her children out of the house, now.

"Wade! Ella!" Scarlett screamed as she ran pell-mell down the staircase, the hem of her crème colored nightgown flying behind her. The two children emerged from the dining room, fear in their eyes as they began asking question after question.

"Hush, my dears, I'll answer questions afterward." Scarlett handed the baffled Wade the poker and scooped Ella up in her arms. She began running for the door, but she paused. Where could she go, she knew no one. She glanced around, figuring the dining room was her only escape.

Shuffling the children into the large room, all Scarlett could hear was the pounding of her heart in her ears. "Get under the table." Scarlett hauled three chairs toward the locked door and shoved them up under the handle as an extra block.

"Momma?" Ella began crying and clutching to her mother as she too crawled under the table. "Momma, what's going on?"

"Hush, my darling," Scarlett soothed the girl as she cried in her lap, stroking her auburn hair, "Everything is going to be fine." But her statement was more to convince herself than anything else.

------

Rhett ran down the stairs in an attempt to catch Scarlett, but as soon as his feet hit the bottom step, he heard the door slam and something shoved underneath it.

Arlene ran into the foyer, out of breath and her hair disheveled after hearing screaming reverberating from upstairs. Arlene turned toward Rhett who stood blankly and unseeing, asking irritably, "What have you done, sir?"

"I have done much, Madame, but I don't know what has gotten into her, it's almost as if I am a stranger to her. To think after knowing her for so long, she thinks of me as a stranger." Arlene could hear the hurt in his deep Charlestonian drawl and felt some remorse for him.

"Sir, you do not know…"

"I don't know what?" he seemed to yell, his eyes embedded with sadness and pain. He had wished beyond anything that his Scarlett would just speak to him, but he knew now that that was asking too much. He had lost.

"Scarlett's accident." Arlene said so quietly, it was almost a whisper. Rhett snapped his head around to look at her, his eyes demanding answers. "I believe you ought to be seated, Mister Butler, it's an elongated account."

**A/N- I hope this chapter is enjoyable! Please review!**


	17. Rhett Kinnicut

**A/N- Hi everyone! I hope everyone's week was good!** **I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Seventeen**

Rhett sat hunched over in a high backed leather chair, his large hands cradling his handsome face in depression. Scarlett, the strong, willful woman he had witnessed ailing just once since he had known her, had nearly died for the second time on his account.

If he had only been reasonable that day, if only he hadn't spat and cursed at her, saying things he didn't mean and meaning things he didn't say. Why couldn't he have told her to stay until the storm passed? He knew his mother had, but she wouldn't have stayed if he didn't want he there, and he didn't.

Rhett could still hear his sister-in-laws voice echoing in his clouded mind. _"Continuing, there was a woman in it when the coach wheels gave out in the rain and the stagecoach collapsed around her. The woman has been unconscious since, but no one knows the poor dear, she was visiting from out of town and no one can identify her."_ How could he have not thought it could have been Scarlett? How could he be so daft?

Someone should have come to find him, someone should have told him! Rhett then remembered all the ties the family no longer kept. His mother and the Robillard sister had undergone a rather large falling out long before Scarlett ever arrived in Charleston.

His head throbbed intensely as Arlene Lombardi, the nurse that looked after Scarlett, interrupted his thoughts. "And you see, Mr. Butler, Scarlett's sister, Sister Mary Margaret and I decided not to inform her of much of her past, including you. You see, she was undergoing an incredibly hard time before the accident as you know and we didn't want to cause her mental pain as well as the physical pain she was in."

"So she has no idea who I am or what has happened?" Rhett croaked through the cracks of his large fingers just before he ran them though his black hair.

"No, Mister Butler, nor does she know _anyone_ who was from her past. All of her mind was erased that day all accept one person." Arlene said sitting across for Rhett. She saw as his head snapped up and an odd look entered his eyes. He was about to open his mouth and make what Arlene though was going to be a rude remark when she cut him off. "It's Miss Melanie Hamilton she remembers. She told her sister and I a dream in which she saw her before she woke from unconsciousness."

There was an elongated silence before Rhett looked up, his shoulders straightened and his eyes began to shine once more. "I need to speak to her. I need to speak to her about everything."

"But, sir, she will not remember…"

"I don't care!" He exclaimed, smashing his large fist against the petite side table, which resided next to him. "I have to talk to her, no matter how long it takes, Miss Lombardi. I want to help Scarlett, I want to help her remember."

Arlene nodded, her strawberry blonde hair bouncing up and down slightly. "I understand Mister Butler. We have a spare room if you wish to stay, but I believe we should get Scarlett from the dinning room. Who knows what she's told those poor children, the probably think some Yankee is in the house."

The two made their way to the jammed double doors, which led to Scarlett and the children. Knocking, Arlene said quietly as she straightened her pale green dress, "Open the door Scarlett, it's me. Everything is alright, you can come out."

There was a long wait in which Arlene and Rhett, who stood behind her, heard Scarlett whispering to her children and then a rustle of a nightgown. The two heard Scarlett lift the restraint with a grunt from the handle on the opposite side of the door. The knob clicked lightly and Scarlett emerged, wide-eyed at seeing Rhett standing behind her nurse and confidant.

Attempting to close the door again, Arlene grabbed it and pulled it toward her causing Scarlett to stumble and loose her balance. Rhett reached out and grabbed her waist settling her, but instead of a thank you, she swatted his hands away, fear again in her eyes.

"Now Scarlett, before you decide to lock yourself in a dining room again, let me introduce…" Arlene stopped. She wasn't sure if she should address Rhett as a 'friend', or her 'husband'. She didn't want to insult the poor man, but she didn't want to cause Scarlett to go into traumatic shock.

Providentially for Arlene, Rhett pushed his way in front of her reaching out his hand. "I'm Rhett Kinnicut, an old friend of yours, Scarlett." He said with difficulty, nearly uttering the word husband. Why he had given his middle name as his last, he would never fully understand, but it was already out; no turning back. "I had heard through the grapevine you were living here in Chattanooga and I wanted to see how you were doing."

Rhett paused, acting was something he could do fairly well, but only once before had he had lie like _this,_ the previous time, also to deceive Scarlett. "Miss Lombardi told me of your accident, Scarlett. I want to help you. I knew you long ago, dear and if you promise not to kill me with a poker, I'll try and help you."

Scarlett's jaded orbs widened visibly as she cupped her mouth with her petite little hands. She was horrified with herself; completely horrified that she had tried to harm an old friend. "Oh, my…oh, sir, I'm so sorry!" Scarlett exclaimed watching as a crooked smile formed upon his lips. "I… I hadn't a clue of who you were."

"Please, Scarlett, formality has long since been demolished between us. Rhett is the name, dear and do not worry. Allow pain to come forth to the gentleman who has done wrong." Though the man's words puzzled her, she smiled none-the-less, he seemed incredibly nice, and maybe, just maybe, he was the one who could give her answers.

Suddenly Scarlett looked down and realized her less that formal attire; a crème, light nightgown. She gasped, running up the stairs to change and Wade and Ella emerged from the dining room. Their frightened moods were changed to dark ones at once.

"Wade and my little Ella." Rhett beamed at his stepchildren pulling his pants legs up slightly, getting down to a squat. He opened his arms and said exuberantly, "Come here and give Uncle Rhett a proper greeting."

Wade stepped in front of his sister, each wearing their emotions on their sleeves. Both Ella and Wade wore equal expressions of abhorrence. Wade shoved out his hand, and lifting his chin higher in the air. "Hello Mr. Butler."

Rhett's face fell as he took his stepsons hand in his own, pumping it up and down. After the extraordinarily official hello, Wade also turned and made his way up the stairway with his sister right behind him.

Rhett watched them go, the two children who had always seemed to look up to him had now put him in his place. He deserves the unsympathetic and cold actions, he had left them, what did he expect? But in a outlandish way, Rhett hadn't realized that when he had left Scarlett, he had also left the children who needed a father figure.

Now Mr. Rhett Kinnicut Butler, Rhett Kinnicut to Scarlett now, had to find ways to make amends to his wife, who didn't remember anything, and his stepchildren. Little did he know that the children were a great deal more pigheaded than he had suspected.

**A/N- Yes, I understand, it's not the best chapter but it is a connector and I tried to make it as interesting as possible.**

**I hope it's enjoyable! Please review :)**


	18. I Will Help You

**A/N- Thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate them! **

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Eighteen**

Breakfast was quite an uncomfortable affair for much of the house. For one, Scarlett had been a vivid shade of crimson for the last hour due to having this gentleman who claimed to be an 'old friend' see her in her nightdress. The fabric was thick, thank the Lord, she thought, but nonetheless. A man you have never seen before has seen you in your nightclothes! She couldn't seem to face him.

Wade and Ella were utterly distant to their stepfather whom they had known all their life. They didn't want him here. Their lives were perfect without him; their mother didn't remember the misery he had caused her and there was no screaming in the household. They reviled the notion of their mother and Uncle Rhett fighting the way they used to. It was nothing short of dreadful.

Arlene kept glancing swiftly back and forth from Scarlett, to Rhett, to her breakfast, and back again. She was terrified that Mr. Butler would say something completely daft and have Scarlett burst into frustrated screams or sobs. Hopefully he would follow up with his 'friend' theory, and if not, it would be he who would get hurt, for many, many doctors had come to the same conclusion about Scarlett's loss of memory again and again; she would never regain it back again.

Arlene and Careen had worked with Scarlett for months to trigger any sort of memory in her, but her mind was a barren as a desert. Nothing they ever did or said could generate any remembrance, and by nine months, they stopped trying all together. Why worry the poor girl with a past she knew nothing about and, most likely would never again.

But the most awkward of all, was the shimmering, gold fire poker, which sat idly in the middle of the vast cherry wood table. Scarlett had failed to return it to its stand and the children were incredibly hungry, begging their mother to sit and eat. So there all five of them sat, silverware clanking against fine dishes, each gazing intently at their plate of food or glancing around all seated around this gold poker, which had no relevance in being there in the first place.

Scarlett could take no more of the silence, which overpowered the room; she thought she was going to go insane. There were five people in this large room, were there not? Why couldn't one of them start a conversation about something, _anything_! Standing quietly, Scarlett excused herself from the room and made her way to the little balcony overlooking the backyard of her property.

As Scarlett opened the double doors to the lanai, a gust of wind, that had been attempting to prod its way into the quaint house, blew quickly in scattering the dead leaves which had been laying lazily on the terrace to go into a frenzy; dancing to a beat of their own. Scarlett sighed, how she loved this little space. Everyone in the house knew this was where she went to clear her head when she had thought too long.

Scarlett took a seat in the comfortable chair she had placed out on the stone area adjacent to the house for she spent much time here. Folding her arms over the petite little brass railing, Scarlett hunched forward, her chin resting atop her thin forearm as another gust of wind swept throughout the trees causing a rustling sound.

Scarlett watched little critters scurry and fool around as she thought finally, finally after a year of pestering Arlene and Careen, she could get answers. She could get answers about her past; what had she done? Who has she known? For who did her heart persistently ache for? All these answers and more she wanted. She wanted to remember and she wanted to know about the other people she used to be acquainted with other than her sister Suellen and her husband Will, her late mother and father and her nieces.

She wanted to know who her babies' father was. She had asked Careen once, but she wouldn't tell her, the only thing she did say was that they were deceased and she was a widow. How could you deprive someone of that information? How could you hide someone's past as if it were a toy a child had been fanatical with and hid it under the bed?

Scarlett was so wrapped up in her thoughts she failed to realize Rhett had sauntered to the balcony, crouching next to her chair. Rhett had been watching her for sometime now and she looked so peaceful, nothing like she did when they were living together. "Scarlett." Rhett whispered as he ran his long, tanned index finger down her pale hand.

Scarlett gasped and sat straight, clutching her hand to her chest, frightened by his action…and by something else. She glanced over to her side, confusion and a twinge of fear in her emerald eyes and saw Rhett smiling at her, his large white teeth contrasting with the dankness of his swarthy skin.

Scarlett looked from her hand, to Rhett, to her hand again and back to Rhett once more, confusion still embedded in her eyes. Scarlett began to wring her hands in uncertainty. When his skin had made contact with the flesh stretched across the back of her hand, a burning sensation filled her body, erasing the previous emotion of ache in her heart completely.

"Are you alright, my pet?" Rhett asked placing a large, incredibly tanned hand on her arm, which was encased in a sleeve of a beautiful pale green dress, his dark eyes looking up at her with worry. She nodded slowly and managed to whisper a faint reply.

Scarlett didn't understand, what had happened? One moment, the twisting pain in her beating heart was quite heavy, and the next the emotion was gone and replaced by a burning sensation in where their flesh had collided and her heartbeat quickened. "May I ask you a question sir?"

"Only if you bring to an end to all this nonsensical formality, my dear." Rhett smiled, once again showing his large white teeth as he brushed a piece of ebony hair from Scarlett face. Pulling a chair over toward her, Rhett said, "Go ahead, my pet, ask away."

Scarlett stared at this man sitting next to her curiously. For some reason…for some reason she felt as if she could tell Rhett anything and everything on her mind. She felt as if she could trust him, yet she barely even knew him. "Rhett, how did I know you before my accident? I don't remember."

The instant the words left her lips, she could tell he was quite taken aback from her inquiry. He apparently didn't comprehend that she knew that she had an catastrophe, but how could someone conceal that information if you're lying in a hospital bed wondering why you're drawing a blank when being asked the simplest question such as your name.

Rhett froze, his heart stopping for a moment before his mind began work once more. He couldn't tell her the truth…but oh how he wished he could! The ends of his lips curved downward in once of his signature smiles. "We were longtime friends, Scarlett. We first became acquainted at a large barbeque many, many years ago. You were quite friendly actually, after the shattered pieces of the vase you threw scattered and pelted me in the head, you and I had a quarrel."

Scarlett sat in the comfortable chair as another gust of wind blew around her, causing her hair to flow gently behind she fought back a laugh with her hands pressed against her lips. Rhett's breath caught in his chest; he had never seen her more beautiful with her eyes dancing with silent laughter and her hair blowing in wisps behind her, coming out of the tight chignon she had done this morn.

"I apologize for my past actions on nearly taking your head off with a vase, Rhett. I do hope you'll forgive a girl with no recollection of anything past a year and a half ago." Scarlett smiled as Rhett threw his head back and laughed. Scarlett realized at the moment, she loved making him laugh….

"I'm certain I can come across it in my shattered heart and wounded pride to exonerate you, my dear, of such an action fueled by hatred." Rhett, with prolonged movements and mock grief, threw his hand over his heart and Scarlett erupted in laughter, her sides aching from all her mirth.

"Oh, Rhett!" Scarlett continued, out of breath and beaming, laying a petite, kid-gloved hand atop his forearm, which rested atop the arm of his chair. "Are you always this witty, Rhett? Do I have to get used to you doing this regularly?"

"I suppose you will, my pet, for I intend to help you remember." Rhett answered, smiling but his eyes told another story; they were as serious and serious could get. Rhett took Scarlett's little hands in his own, enveloping them with his own. "No matter what it takes Scarlett, I promise I will help you."

**A/N- Hello again! I hope you like this chapter! I'm going to try and make updates more frequent, but I don't promise anything. I'm swamped with stuff for school. I was lucky, today I didn't have much to do.**

**Please review to give constructive critism or just to tell me if you like the way the story is going!**


	19. I Can Never Stay Mad At You

**A/N- Thanks so much for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Nineteen**

Scarlett sank down in into her soft featherbed which felt incredibly soothing on her tense muscles, her ebony hair cascading down around her milky white shoulders. The light shone brightly from her oil lamp that rested on her bedside table as she folded her arms over the coverlet and sighed, confused.

Rhett was such a nice man; he was in her company all day, telling her stories of his many years as a famous Confederate blockade runner, joking all the while. She never left his side, or to rephrase it, he never _let_ her leave his side, but she wasn't complaining; it was nice to have some company other than Arlene and Wade and Ella.

What she didn't comprehend was why her children would stare at Rhett with such enmity she by no means knew they had even possessed. Their eyes seemed to eternally be slits of animosity when he was around and their demeanor changed automatically. Scarlett had asked the about their mood and they only responded with smiles to their clueless mother saying it was nothing.

Scarlett shrugged under the covers and sighed once more recollecting on the day. Oh what a wonderful day it was! Scarlett hadn't had that much fun since she could remember. Rhett had taken them out into the large, bustling town, which seemed to be filled to capacity. Her arm was linked with his the whole way and she felt safe. For once since her accident, she felt as if she was wholly protected and that terrified her.

She was frightened because she had never experienced this emotion before and she was always looking out for herself and her children. Never had anyone taken charge like that before and her emotions were split. She didn't know whether to enjoy the attention or to ignore it. Scarlett had to admit to herself that she enjoyed Rhett attention immensely; he was so attentive and she felt as if she could tell him anything. To Scarlett, it seemed as if she knew Rhett for an eternity.

Her head began to throb and she knew she was dwelling for far too much. Scarlett sat upright in her comfortable bed, picking up _Sense and Sensibility _which lay idly on her bedside stand. Scarlett had come into the habit of reading a little bit every night before she fell asleep. She found that she enjoyed reading, and this was by far her favorite. She found that reading took her mind off of her own life and put her into an alternate universe of another with different problems and different outcomes.

Scarlett was so entranced by the words that seemed to be leaping out at her; she did not hear the door creak slightly. She did not hear long strides making their way towards her nor did she feel the side of her bed sink down as Rhett sat upon the edge flabbergasted by her actions.

"What are you doing, Scarlett?" His deep, curious voice tore through the stillness of the room and she jumped, the book landing open in her lap. Scarlett looked over at him and with quick movements, pulled the coverlet up to her chin. It was immodest for him to be in her room at this hour.

"Oh, my Rhett," Scarlett laughed, her emerald eyes dancing wildly, "Oh Rhett you nearly scared me to death! I was so interested in what I was reading that I didn't hear you."

Rhett picked up the book in her lap vigilantly; rotating it over in his great hands, reading the worn cover where large printed words read _Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen._ Rhett furrowed his brows, never had he seen Scarlett read. He knew she had had some schooling because she was such a good businesswoman, but seeing her reading surprised him.

He closed the book on his finger, handing the book back to her and she smiled warmly. He smile took his breath away. The way her cheeks dimpled furiously and her eyes lit up were enough to make him go crazy. "You like to read, Scarlett?" He asked curious for more information on her behavior.

She nodded accepting the book from him, "Yes. I just recently picked it up, but I enjoy it very much. It takes my mind off everyday life and puts me in a different place and another time. Oh, I've read a whole bunch of books. _David Copperfield_, _Jane Eyre_, _Bleak House_, _Wuthering Heights_, half of _Othello _because it was just too dreadfully dreary for me, _Les Miserables, _and some poetry books. You can look under my bed if you don't believe me."

Scarlett smiled, holding the book to her chest as Rhett stood from the bed and looked under the bed. Sure enough, there they were, every one of the books she had said and more. Rhett straightened himself shaking his head slightly and smirking disbelieving as Scarlett threw her head back and laughed.

_'The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.'_ Dear, Scarlett I am truly sorry to have doubted you're uncanny actions. Can you find it in your heart to forgive a cad like myself who had done wrong." Rhett looked down at her with mocking in his beautiful dark eyes, his large hand over his heart.

Scarlett took her hardback and whacked his arm with it frivolously laughing all the while. "Oh Rhett!" They sat laughing for a few minutes before Scarlett sighed and laid her head on his arm, tiredly. "I could never stay mad at you, Rhett."

The merriment was wiped clear from his face, her quiet voice ringing through his mind. _'I could never stay mad at you.' _She should be and probably would if she had any recollection he thought. What they had done to each other, it was dreadful and in a way he was glad she didn't remember.

He suddenly turned toward her with a sorrowful expression upon his handsome features. She lifted her head and watched him with her jaded orbs. He reached down and laid his fingertips on her cheek and watched as she pressed her cheek into his palm.

Scarlett could feel her face getting warm as they watched each other for what seemed like and hour, the sorrow never leaving his eyes. Suddenly Rhett stood removing his hand from her soft pale cheek. "Goodnight, Scarlett." He said and left quickly, leaving Scarlett alone and confused.

**A/N- Sorry this chapter is a shorty but I had killer writers block and this is only a wittle connector. I hope it was enjoyable! Please review and give feedback!**


	20. Bonnie in the Garden

**A/N- Hi everyone! Here's chapter 20, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Twenty**

_Scarlett was in the garden with a beautiful young child, her golden locks shimmering in the burning sun as they curled around her thin face making her cerulean eyes blaze with brilliance. The child was exuberant and bursting with so much energy. _

_Scarlett knew this little person and would remember her forever. It was Bonnie. Bonnie Blue was her daughter, she remembered her from the accident where she saw Melanie and her little girl again. She had told her sister of her dream and seeing Melanie and the look she gave her was a look someone gave to a crazy woman, and surely, Scarlett was not crazy._

_Careen's look only prompted her to stay silent about seeing her lovely, petite little daughter. She couldn't inform anyone less they'd assume she'd gone daft. It was oh so hard to keep quiet though. She wanted to tell the world of the most beautiful little girl in the world._

_"Momma!" Bonnie yelled, her face covered in the sticky juice of the berries that grow on the many bushes. "Momma come here!"_

_Scarlett instantaneously stood and walked over to the gouging girl, who continuously shoves handfuls of delicious red berries in her mouth. She couldn't help but smile as she wiped the dripping, sticky mess off her face and hands, "Are the berries good, Bonnie baby?"_

_Bonnie nodded, the ringlets surrounding her face bobbing up and down as she smiled. "They are so yummy momma. They are just as good as the deserts you, daddy, and I used to eat! They are so juicy and its sour when it goes in your mouth but then it turns really, really sweat and…"_

_Scarlett laughed as she listened to her daughter ramble on and on in hurried tones of the berries, yet something she said stuck in her mind like glue. _'They are just as good as the deserts you, daddy, and I used to eat…'_ Who was Bonnie's daddy, her first or second husbands daughter? Careen had told her that she was married twice and widowed the same amount. _

_Scarlett expression was serious as she wrapped her arms around her daughter and pulling her close to her, burying her face in her daughter's blonde ringlets. Bonnie, in turn wrapped her arms around her mother who seemed to be distressed. "What's the matter Momma?"_

_Scarlett looked down at her beautiful daughter and smiled, "Nothing my darling." She ruffled her daughter's hair slightly and kissed her cheek. Bonnie lover her mother's affection, she never really had much of it when she was alive but was always sure she loved her. Bonnie, even as the youngster that she was, knew that people loved in many different ways; as was the case with her momma. Bonnie knew that Scarlett loved her and her step brothers and sisters, but most of all, she knew that she adored her daddy. The blonde seraph was well aware just by the way her mother looked at her daddy, but Rhett was too blind to see it._

_"Momma!" Bonnie said excitedly, disentangling herself from her mother embrace. "Momma, I want you to see my ride Mr. Butler." Bonnie whistled and the chestnut pony trotted nonchalantly over to its owner, throwing it's head back and neighing softly._

_Bonnie climbed upon the back of the beast as Scarlett's heart froze. Scarlett ran toward the colt, gripping his mane in fear. "No, Bonnie, dear. I think you should come down from the pony. I want to take a little walk with you."_

_Bonnie could sense the tension in her mother and smiled warmly. "It's okay Momma, Mr. Butler is a very nice horse. He won't hurt me, I promise." She pushed herself up in an attempt to look over the pony's head. "Isn't that right Mr. Butler?" The colt let out what sounded like a sigh in response._

_Bonnie smiled and looked up at Scarlett who was frightened out of her mind. "No Bonnie, it's time to get off Mr. Butler and…" Scarlett couldn't finish, for Bonnie put a hand on her mother's arm reassuringly._

_"It's okay Momma, really." She smiled and remembered something. "Tell daddy that I love him and that I miss him a whole bunch. Okay Momma?"_

_Scarlett nodded, her eyes filled with frightened tears as her daughter took off, her hair flying behind her as the pony picked up speed. Scarlett called out to her daughter, beginning to run after the foal before she heard a wild neigh and her daughter scream. "Bonnie!"_

Scarlett woke in a cold sweat, tears pouring down her face as she trembled. She stood, knowing she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep no matter how hard she tried. She grabbed her down pillow and walked quickly to her door, opening it and making her way down the hallway and the stairs.

Scarlett clutched the while pillow to her chest as more tears began to create watery tracks down her pale cheeks. With one hand, Scarlett opened the door to the porch, inviting the bitter wind to strike her trembling body, her nightclothes twisting and turning around her feet as she made her way over to the chair which sat in the some spot it had been this morn when she and Rhett were out here.

Scarlett tucked her bare feet under her body as she leaned back in the comfortable chair, recalling the events of the day. She nearly killed Rhett this morn, and then as she was reading he stared into her eyes, laying his hands on her cheek. She could feel heat in her body as soon as his flesh made contact with hers. The dream.

Scarlett shook her head as her body trembled harder, her shoulders beginning to shake. Her Bonnie baby! Was that the way she died? That damned horse! No not her sweet little Bonnie! Scarlett clutched the pillow closer to her, burring her face in the soft cushion, allowing tears to fall faster.

Scarlett suddenly felt large hands on her shoulders, "Do you take pleasure in catching colds Scarlett, dear?"

Scarlett shook her head. Why did Rhett always catch her at the wrong moments? "No, I don't. I don't care Rhett. I don't care," she managed to croak out through her tears, her shoulders beginning to quake harder as she dug her fingernails into the pillow.

Rhett then knew Scarlett was crying. He had assumed that she was just shivering. His heart broke as he bent down in front of her, lifting up her head with his index and thumb finger seeing her eyes splotched red and puffy. Scooping her in his arms, he too her back inside to the study a room away. "What is it Scarlett, what's wrong?"

For a moment Scarlett just sat next to him, trembling, but in one quick movement, she was in his arms, sobbing onto his shoulder. "Rhett! Oh, Rhett, it was horrible!" She sobbed as Rhett wrapped his arms around her waist, laying his cheek on her scalp.

"What is it, Scarlett my darling? What was horrible?" Rhett stroked her ebony hair lightly as he held her shaky body to him, rocking her back and forth slowly, an action, he realized years ago, which helped her to calm down.

Scarlett clutched the shoulders of his long billowing white shirt in her petite hands and he rubbed her back gently. "My daughter, Rhett! My baby!" She paused before continuing. "I…I was with my baby in the g…garden and she was eating berries. She looked adorable with the st…sticky juice all over her face. Rhett, she is a gorgeous child, the prettiest little girl in the world."

Rhett continued to hold the sobbing Scarlett as he said, "I'm sure Ella is the most beautiful little girl, Scarlett." He didn't understand. He didn't know! He sustained rubbing her back as her tears increased considerably.

"No, Rhett. It wasn't Ella, it was my little Bonnie Blue." She choked as Rhett froze, he too feeling tears stinging the back of his eyes. "My precious Bonnie and I were in the garden and she wanted to show me how she rode her horse, Mr. Butler." She took a breath. "My God! I tried to stop her Rhett, I did! I had a foreboding feeling. I told her to come back, but she only smiled at me and told me to tell her daddy that she misses and loves him very much.

"Rhett I told her not to go. I told her I didn't want her to ride that pony, but she didn't listen to took off, her gold hair flying behind her and…Oh God, Rhett!" She sobbed, clutching onto Rhett for support as she took an uneven breath. "Rhett I heard the wild cries of the colt, I heard my baby screaming and I… I woke up. Rhett, my baby!"

Scarlett could no longer grasp his shoulders any longer, for her thin fingers were shaking too hard. "Rhett, I don't know what to do. I don't remember who Bonnie's father is, and even if I did, I couldn't tell him her message. Careen said that I was married twice and widowed each time."

Hot tears were falling from Rhett's dark and beautiful eyes as he pulled Scarlett closer to him, his heart breaking. It was still too soon to speak of his late daughter. "No, Scarlett," he croaked, "Careen wasn't truthful with you. You were married thrice, you third husband is still alive my darling."

"Who is he? Where is he?" She sobbed onto his chest, "Where…where can I find him to tell him his beautiful daughter's message Rhett?"

"He knows." Rhett croaked clutching her body to his, his heart in turn, breaking with her own. "Scarlett, he already knows."

**A/N- Helloooo! I'm sorry nothing has been posted lately, I was seriously considering deleting this story, but I've decided to stick with it! I hope you all with stick with me!**

**I hope this chapter was enjoyable!**

** eternal rose 45**


	21. From One Extreme To Another

**A/N- Wow, I didn't realize that so many people enjoyed my story. Thank you!**

**Okay, I have made a mistake in interpreting some key information in my ficcy and decided I should probably clear it all up. (Takes out broom) **

**I know a lot of my readers are like, 'wow, Scarlett is kinda stupid cause she didn't figure out that Rhett's her husband yet cause of Bonnie's horse.' Well, I had that same though when writing this and came to a conclusion a few months ago. **

**If you go back to chappie seventeen, Rhett introduces himself as Rhett Kinnicut, failing to use his last name and instead replacing it with his middle name because he didn't want Scarlett to remember their past in a way and just sorta blurted it out. I'll get more into his reasoning in previous chapters. **

**And about Bonnie's hair color, that was just a pretty dumb move on my part. I had forgotten. Haha. **

**On to Chapter Twenty-one!**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Scarlett had wakened in her bed the next sunrise, uncertain of how she got there. She remembered that she had been on the veranda after the awful nightmare she had and began weeping, clutching onto Rhett. That was the moment she realized that they were very much in tune with each other's feelings. Rhett had held her that night, crying along with her.

She shook her head as she remembered what he had told her. _'Careen wasn't truthful with you. You were married thrice, you third husband is still alive my darling.'_ If she had a husband, why wasn't he here with her? Why wasn't he there when the carriage gave way in the pouring rain? Where was he when she needed him most? Needed him to help trigger a memory doctors had told her would most likely never return.

What had happened that when he received the news of her accident that he didn't care in the least, tossing the 'affair' aside as if it were an old worn out shoe? What had they done to each other? Had they fought, or had he been abusive? What? She didn't remember!

Scarlett thought back to the beautiful dark haired seraph she had seen in the garden eating the berries. She had a third husband and that was Bonnie's father, she knew. That would explain why Bonnie looked so much different from her other two children. Of course Scarlett though her other children were beautiful, but Bonnie was different. Bonnie's features were delicate yet had a deep, hidden rough side to them which made her look gorgeous. Her skin was the color of her mother's, but she must have inherited her father's dark eyes.

Scarlett pulled the covers up over her head, enjoying the warmth the sheets and coverlet provided and closed her eyes. She didn't want to see anyone, she didn't want to get up, all she desired was to stay put and think things over. Think about who she was, what she was.

Scarlett grunted as she rolled onto her stomach, reaching her hand under the right side of the bed. Her hands roamed over spare books, and scraps of paper before she felt a frame. Pulling it out from under the bed, she never took her eyes off the handsome portrait. It was Mr. Rhett Kinnicut. She had found the portrait buried deep in the trunk her aunts had shipped over and had studied it every night.

What she could gather just by looking at the miniature was that he was a refined gentleman, and it was very true. He was quite the debonair gentleman, always kind with his actions. Scarlett sighed and pushed it back under the bed with the other numerous portraits.

Scarlett was in possession of a least a dozen miniatures and knew not who half of them were. Careen would avoid the subject whenever possible and Arlene was in the same boat. She knew no one from Scarlett's past; her only help now, was Rhett. Hopefully he could tell her one-day…

----

Ella started toward her mother's room, her tiny feet moving as fast as they would carry her. It was time to jump incessantly on her mother's bed until she awoke. It was like this every morn, and just because that skunk of a stepfather was currently residing in the home, did not stop Ella from her ritual.

The smile on Ella's face was incredibly prominent as she thought of things to tell her Mama. She couldn't talk with her yesterday because Mr. Butler was around her throughout the day, and she just didn't want to socialize with such a man. She hated him, and knew no matter what happened, she would never trust him again. Even as a young child, Ella knew that once someone had lost your trust completely it was extraordinarily difficult to gain it back.

Ella ran into the nursery, grabbing the doll which she had just finished making the previous day. The doll was made out of a spare sack which had held transported fabric. Ella had sewn on some deep emerald buttons for eyes and found bits and pieces of old fabric that were no longer needed, sewing them atop the head to look like a mass of ebony curls; just like her mother. Ella had made a little dress for her hand-made doll out of lace which her mother had ripped off an old dress claiming it as 'too ostentations'.

Ella hugged the dolly to her chest, turning her upper body left and right. Ella was so proud of this messy bundle of stitches and lace, but it was more than a dolly to her. To Ella, the doll was a source of pride, a project she and her mother had worked on together. Ella had pricked her fingers many times during the task, but it didn't matter, all that mattered was that her mother loved her and lovingly aided her with an easier said than done assignment.

Excitement bubbled within Ella's minute frame as she began to jog down the hallway once more. She came close to her mother's door, holing the bundle of material in her right hand as she reached up to the doorknob with her left. She stopped moving her feet, but noticed that she continued to move and there was a hand on her back as she was spun in a half circle.

With a confused and somewhat angered expression upon her features, Ella looked upright to face her once 'Uncle Rhett'. Scrunching her nose slightly as if she were smelling something completely vile, she began to push past him, not bothering to speak an, 'excuse me'.

Rhett stopped her by crouching down and extending his arm so she walked straight into him. She bounced off of him and glared, her dull green eyes narrow slits. "I want to see my Mama." She hissed, attempting to shove him away once more to no avail.

Instead, Rhett scooped up the little girl in his arms and carried her back to her room, sitting her down on her soft, comfortable bed and kneeling in front of the outraged girl. "Ella," he asked, hurt in his dark eyes and in his deep voice, as he stared at the child who once through him as a father figure, "why do you detest me so much?"

Ella answered him by turning her face away from his and sticking up her chin. She folded her arms over her chest haughtily, clutching the handmade doll to her chest.

"Ella," Rhett said again, this time catching her chin in his large fingers and turning her face toward his. "Ella, I know you and Wade both hold me in very low esteem. I have seen you two nicer to you're enemy's." He attempted a jest and failed. "Tell you're Uncle Rhett."

A number of emotions flew across Ella's features before her face fell and tears began to fall from her eyes. "I don't have an Uncle Rhett, not anymore. The 'Uncle Rhett' I remembered would never hurt my momma, but you have. You hurt her very badly. She cried herself to sleep every night and Wade told me you did it. You made my momma cry!" Ella's depression melted away and fury spread through her tiny body like rapid fire. She hated seeing her mother cry and she especially hated the man who had caused her to do so.

Without even looking back at Rhett's astonished and grief-stricken face, Ella jumped off the bed, grabbing her toy by the arm, and ran out the door, continued down the hallway until Rhett heard Scarlett's door slam shut.

Rhett now knew when he left Scarlett he left the children too. The realization hadn't hit him until now. Now when he had hurt everyone in his family. He had to make many amends; now including the young Wade and Ella.


	22. Wherever Your Heart Desires

**A/N- Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't post in a while, I've been a busy bee, but here it is Chapter 22!**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Twenty- Two**

Days turned to weeks and weeks to months in which Scarlett and Rhett became closer than even before the war. The friendlier they got, the more Scarlett thought about him. When he was gone, even for a moment, numbness formed in her insides. It was as if he were her strength and shoulder to cry on.

Whenever he caressed her hand or cheek when he would come into her room in the wee hours of the night to check on her, thinking she was deep in slumber, her skin felt as if it would melt right off her body. It was as if rooms brightened when he entered room, the sun came up when it was raining, and that she had no troubles when he was around.

The further she felt these emotions, the more baffled she became. What did it all denote? Why did she sometimes envision his lips atop hers when daydreaming and when he caught her eyes lingering on his face for too long, his dark brows arched in amusement as his lips curled down slightly.

Scarlett lay in bed incredibly early one morning pondering all of her feeling and emotions swimming in her body, but all she could hear was a loud thudding in her head and the servants preparing for morn. She threw the covers over her head, but it did nothing to block the noise.

She had to get out, she had to clear her head, she had to figure out all her approach. Making a quick decision, Scarlett dressed herself in an old green cotton dress, which hugged her curves and made her eyes sparkle like emeralds.

Scarlett slipped on petite slippers as she combed and pinned up her hair quickly. Not even bothering to take a shawl, she threw open her door and tiptoed down the stairs, wincing whenever a creek ushered from the wooden steps. She wanted to get out before Rhett woke. She needed to think about everything…

With her back against the wall, she slithered her way out the back door, inviting the crisp fall air to caress her body causing goose bumps to encase her arms. She could not feel them for she wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to them.

Slowly she made her way to the back of her relatively large property and nonchalantly seated herself on the cold, green grass which crinkled under weight due to the leaves, which speckled the ground. Scarlett had never realized how pretty fall was as she looked at the expanse of the area around her. A gust of wind came forth from the heavens as Scarlett watched the leaves dance and twirl in a spiral of wind.

-----

Wade was reading a story to the interested yet weary Ella in the nursery. It was well past two and the children were relaxing some. Ella was propped up against a pillow and Wade sat next to his sister, Indian style and read word for word from the large children's book.

Suddenly Rhett burst into the room, anxiety and fear in his dark eyes as he strode quickly over to the children, crouching down so they were at eye level. "Wade, Ella, where is your mother? Do either of you know?"

Neither of them paid him any heed. Ella continued to drift into a peaceful slumber as Wade read the story, never faltering. The two children figured they didn't owe him any answers because for months they had asked where he was and received only a change of subject.

Taking Wade by the shoulders, he shook his slightly, but enough for the book to fall forgotten from his lap as Rhett pleaded with his two stepchildren. "Please, my dears, your mother isn't anywhere in the house. If you know where she is, please…"

His action created a soft stop in Ella's stomach. He did care, he really did. After all this time of judging him, he really cared. Ella smiled at her stepfather before fishing in her small pocket, brandishing a folded note. "Here Uncle Rhett," she whispered, "Momma left this note for me this morning, she said she went out and would be back around noon."

Rhett released Wade's thin shoulder, failing to see the animosity in his eyes as Rhett leaned over and kissed Ella 's forehead lightly. He was surprised that he didn't get the same response from her as he did Wade. "Thank you my dear."

With rapid steps, he sprang from the room as Wade turned an angry glare toward his sister. Rhett grabbed a blanket, knitted, white and warm, from his room as chilling thoughts ran through his head. What if she had gotten into an accident? Something must have happened for her not to be back now. Oh Dear Lord!

Nearly knocking the bustling Arlene over, Rhett bolter outside screaming her name over and over again. When he received no answer, his fear churned deeper in the pit of his stomach, causing a nauseating feeling. "Scarlett!" He screamed, clutching the blanket to him. "Good God Scarlett answer me!"

He ran around the house to the back where he though her would have collapsed in relief. There she was, the northern wind twisting and swirling leaves around her body, which was leaned against the rough, darkened trunk of an old oak. Her skin was so pale compared to her hair, which had long ago fallen from the loose chignon she had nimbly thrown together.

He quickly made his way over to her, wrapping the warm, woolen blanket around her slender, pale, and trembling shoulder. Her thin hands clutched onto the fabric pulling it closer to her as she closed her emerald eyes.

Rhett sat behind her, drawing her frigid body toward her so that her back was resting against his chest. Thank the Lord she was safe! He buried his face in her hair, wrapping his arms around her tighter. She responded by placing her hands over his, tracing them with her fingertips.

"What are you doing out here Scarlett? Catching your death now?" He asked as she tilted her head backwards laying it on his warm chest, thankful that his arms were so strong and warm.

She shook slowly, her eyes glazed over as if recalling events far, far in the past, as her head as she pulled the blanket closer around her shivering body. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she whispered, "Rhett, I don't understand anything anymore. I…I just don't know…I'm so confused, nothing is how it seems. Rhett…"

Rhett bowed his head and kissed her brow lightly, cradling her body to his own. "What's the matter my darling, what do you not understand? Let me take some of your confusion." He crooned as her toyed with the solitary gold band around her pinky finger. He wanted so much just to relieve her of all her worries, kiss her until everything was long forgotten.

Scarlett cuddled closer to him in the crisp fall front. "Everything Rhett, I'm confused about everything." Scarlett took a breath and glanced down at his large, strong hands, which relentlessly toyed with her ring. "Rhett I used to receive letters from a man named Uncle Henry before you came three or so months ago. He used to say the oddest things, talking about his nephew and great nephew, whoever they are, he never specified. I…who is he Rhett? I never knew and Arlene could never tell me."

Rhett took in a deep breath, and closed his eyes all movements subsided. What had Henry Hamilton said to her? Had he mentioned the divorce papers he had sent her what seemed like a lifetime ago when he was still mourning? Rhett would beat himself black and blue one day for sending them, he didn't mean it. He didn't _want _it. Lord only knew that he loved her still and he was only hurting himself by sending those damned papers!

"Uncle Henry is your uncle in law so to speak. He was your first husband, Charles Hamilton's, uncle and association relates you two. He was also your lawyer and has taken care of all your financial issues for years." Rhett pulled her ebony hair from her beautifully pale face gently.

"I wish I knew who you were talking about." Scarlett smiled sadly as she shivered slightly from the cold. "Rhett, I wish I could see everything and everyone before my accident, maybe it would trigger some of my memory, though I doubt it.

"Lord only knows how much I want to remember!" Scarlett continued, in a slow whisper as Rhett rested his chin atop her head. "Rhett I want to remember so desperately! There are things that I wish to know about and…and…oh Rhett what do I do?"

I response, Rhett placed his cheek next to hers, "I'll show you everything and introduce you to everyone you wish to know about. I'll be your guide in a sense, my pet."

The smile on Scarlett's rosy lips as she turned her head to look him in the eyes was like nothing he had ever seen before. It was a genuine smile, something that he was only graced with a few times before as she whispered, "Oh, Rhett, would you really do that for me?"

"My pet, what a thing to say," he jested, his swarthy face contrasting greatly with his white smile. "Of course, my dear, I shall take you wherever your heart desires."

**A/N- Well? Good, bad? Please review to give constuctive critisism or just to say hi!**


	23. Reminiscing

**A/N- Hi everyone! Here is a relativity quick update.**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Scarlett's head rested on Rhett's large shoulder, his muscular, protective arm around her waist as they sat on the relatively empty train to Atlanta, Georgia. Rhett had said that she had lived there for an excessive amount of time before the accident and figured it would be the best place to start with.

"Wait, Rhett." Scarlett furrowed her brows as Rhett intertwined his large finger with her own, "So there's Uncle Henry who was the uncle to my first husband who was a brother to Melanie?…" This all seemed like new to her and she was quite baffled.

Rhett nodded and buried his handsome face in her long ebony hair that cascaded down her covered shoulders gently. As he continued to look at her, he realized her powers over him. Even when she remembered not who he was nor their past, she still needed him, he could tell. He wanted to protect her and shield her from all pain and evil, cradling her in his arms and never letting her go.

Scarlett looked up from their intertwined hands and again her brows furrowed but there was also a gentle smile that rested upon her features. She continued to stare at him, but no recognition formed in his eyes. Finally she whispered slowly, "What are you staring at Rhett?"

He blinked once, twice before consciousness again hit him. Their eyes locked for a few moments in which they both felt so drawn to each other, melting in each other's eyes. They both felt like they belonged to each other. Scarlett had never felt that before and the new emotion frightened her.

Scarlett tore her gaze away from Rhett's for she had begun to wonder what his lips would feel like atop her own. "H…How did I know Melanie Hamilton, Rhett?" Her voice trembled noticeably no matter how hard she attempted to hide it.

"You knew her husband since you were a child and she would frequently come to visit the Wilkes'. After your husband Charles died, you moved to Atlanta with Melanie and her Aunt Pitty Pat Hamilton who was as jittery as a mouse." Rhett's voice was thick and sounded odd.

"Oh," Scarlett whispered continuing to advert her gaze from his dark, dark eyes. They sat silently like that for what seemed like hours before Scarlett drifted into a deep slumber. Her head laying on his chest and her arms wrapped tightly around one of his.

He smiled watching her; she was so innocent, little did she know that in a few hours they would be the center of gossip. He could just see the Old Guard their eyes wide as they walked slowly down the street. His smile fell from his face; he felt sorry for her. He had ruined her reputation, he knew. He was the one that took her out for buggy rides constantly; he was the one who told her that reputations didn't matter if you had enough courage. He never though she would have listened to him.

He laid his forehead on her scalp, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry Scarlett, my darling, I'm so sorry."

Rhett was never one to look back on his line in depth, but as he held the woman he loved most in his life, he had no choice. He wished he could turn back time, turn it back to the barbeque in 1861 when he first met a girl of 16 years who's words were like spitfire. He remembered seeing her for the first time; she was gorgeous and she instantly intrigued him with her flirtatious behavior and he knew that she must have disobeyed her Mammy or her mother to be wearing such a reveling dress early in the morning when the sun would freckle her milky white skin.

If only they knew then what they knew now, maybe everything would be different; maybe things would have been easier. He never wanted to hurt Scarlett, dear God she had wounded him so terribly. She had kept her fantasy of Mr. Wilkes throughout their marriage and knew she imagined herself in Ashley's arms at night when he held her. One. She had told him she no longer wanted children. Two. She had told him without so much as a care that she wanted him out of 'her room'. Three. The last straw that broke the camels back was when he heard word that she was found in the embrace of the honorable 'Mr. Wilkes' at the mills on the day of his birth. That was what hurt the most.

From that moment on, he wanted to hurt her; he wanted to hurt her just as much as she hurt him. That evening, he dropped Scarlett off at Ashley's birthday party and from there went to Belle's to drink himself into a drunken stupor. He succeeded. He then returned home to drink some more. He had always been able to hold down his liquor, but not that night. That night he was too murderous.

Rhett waited for her to return home, waited in his drunken state, nursing cup after cup of brandy, his eyes a frightening red tint. She had come down the stairs to find the light on in the dinning room; she turned, but not before he called to her telling her she was 'able to come in'. She could feel the hatred reverberating from his mood even before she entered the room, her steps timid, but her face hard as a rock.

He told her to sit, slapping a cup of brandy in her small hand. She didn't drink, not that fateful night anyway. They began to bicker, their words getting sharper and sharper, cutting deeper than ever before, like a hunter sharpening his spear for a hunt. She stood, he screamed. She sat back down, but not before getting insulted and attempting to stand again. He boomed once more and shoved her down in the chair by her shoulders. He then entangled his hand in her hair threatening to smash her skull with his hands, wishing he could.

She broke free of his grasp, insulting the drunken man, turning on her heels and storming out. Rhett watched her for a moment before running after her and scooping her up in his arms, clutching her tightly and painfully to him. She had turned him out for so long and he was determined that tonight she would not.

From his actions, he had hurt everyone in the family and some outside. The morning after, he was determined to hurt her even more, deciding he would take _his _daughter to England. He had taken enjoyment in seeing her face fall after the startling news.

He has stayed away as long as he could before his Bonnie baby became homesick and yearned for her mother. _'I guess a horrible mother is better than no mother at all'_ he remembered thinking. With resentment, he came home, watching Scarlett's face fall as he tightened his lips and bowed stiffly.

That day he didn't just hurt Scarlett, he hurt many people. She told him about the life she was carrying inside her and for an instant his extreme abhorrence melted away as he attempted to embrace her. She refused him, the wall quickly mended itself as he uttered those horrible words, 'maybe you'll have a miscarriage.'

Her eyes flashed red and she threw herself forward to attack him violently, but she missed and toppled down the stairs, screaming the whole way down finally landing in a pool of her own blood. Fear gripped his heart as he screamed for Mammy to get a doctor as he clutched the limp form to his chest; his salty tears of regret falling upon her dress.

The doctors told him that it was not likely that she would make it through the night and that the babe was lost. He remembered covering his face with his hard hands, leaning forward in his seat. She never called for him during the two weeks she was in bed. For those two weeks, he sat in the spare room that resided across the hall, staring at the wooden door of the occupied room thinking everyday when some one exited the room, she was dead.

He wished to this day that he could take it all back. Take back every action and maybe they could have been a family with a small baby! Oh God he wished he could take it back. He squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to hold back the hot tears, which were threatening to spill from his dark eyes. He held her tighter and continued to rest his forehead on her head until she jolted in her sleep letting out a small whimper.

He shot up, watching the sleeping figure with confusion. She had never jerked around in her sleep before. It was only when… His heart stopped suddenly, moving her hair from her face, it was only when she was having a nightmare.

As if on cue, Scarlett began to thrash around in the uncomfortable train seat crying out, her ebony hair coming loose from the pins she had shoved in this morn. Rhett grabbed her by her upper arms shaking her gently, "Wake up, wake up."

She awoke, tears falling down her pale cheeks, staring up at the concerned Rhett. She looked away covering her face in her hands, her shoulder shaking violently, bending forward so that the backs of her hands were resting on her knees.

"Scarlett," Rhett whispered, placing one hand on her trembling back, leaning forward to push her hands away from her delicate face. Without warning, she threw her arms around his neck. In response, he scooped her up out of her seat and sat her in his lap. "Scarlett, what is it sweetheart?"

"I've done something terrible Rhett!" She cried, "I begged him not to go, dear God I begged him, but he only spat hateful words at me. Oh Dear Lord! I ran after him when he left but he never looked back, uncaring and cold. I wish…I wish I knew…"

"Who?" His heart froze.

Scarlett took an uneven breath before looking into his eyes, "I…I don't know."

**A/N- So begins a ends another chappy. I hope everyone like it **

**Please review!**


	24. The Beginning of A New Era

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

Departing the train, Rhett offered Scarlett his muscular, tanned arm which Scarlett took graciously. To be frank, she was quite nervous about Atlanta. Yes, Rhett had said she had lived here for many, many years prior to the accident, yet she was not familiar with any face on the street, nor the buildings or working stations which Rhett thankfully pointed out to her.

"Welcome back to Atlanta, Georgia, Scarlett." Rhett smiled down at her, his feet leading the way. The streets were like second nature to him. He used to walk them in the wee hours of the night after Scarlett had told him she no longer wanted him in her room for she wanted no more children. He used to wobble down these streets after he would drink himself into a drunken stupor; sputtering curses against the gorgeous vixen that possessed his heart from the moment her first laid eyes of her.

Scarlett was glancing around the depot in deep concentration as if trying desperately to remember the place. In hearing his deep Charlestonian drawl, she tipped her face upward and looked into his deep black eyes. She smiled, a genuine smile, which he had been getting much of in the past few months, her dimples showing to some extent.

Prissy, who was telegraphed by Rhett saying that they were coming home for a spell, towed behind, attempting to heave the trunks into the carriage with the help of the stagecoach. Rhett had told the carriage driver to go ahead. Scarlett had said she wanted to walk and stretch out her legs and look at the town.

Rhett and Scarlett strolled nonchalantly in the lethargic autumn sun, the crisp with nipping their ears. A shiver ran down Scarlett's spine as a gust of wind combed through the streets unseating the leave which lay idly upon the ground which crackled under their feet. Rhett pulled her shawl more tightly around her and she again gazed up and smiled.

The streets were relatively deserted which was in the two's best interest and what Rhett had been praying for. Everyone who was roaming, was new to Atlanta, for he hadn't seen any of them before. Rhett had prayed fervently as he watched Scarlett sleep on the train that no one would be around. She didn't need the gossip now; it was entirely unnecessary.

"Rhett?" Scarlett asked curiously, tilting her head slightly and once more glancing up in his direction. "Rhett, why did I choose Atlanta as my home? There was anyplace in the south, but why Atlanta? It's not that I don't like it, I do. It's a quaint town so much as I've seen so far, but I'm just curious."

He smiled before responding, "My dear, you had lived in Georgia all your life. When you were a little girl, you lived on a plantation with your family in Clayton Country, 'where the red Earth grows' you once told me. After your first husband went to war and died of pneumonia, you moved in as I have said previous with Melanie Hamilton and her aunt. I suppose you scarce considered of residing anywhere else for you were just so accustomed to live around here."

Scarlett smiled wider, "How is it that you know me so well?"

The corners of his lips curved down and his eyebrows shot up. "My pet, I used to take you out for buggy rides when you were a widow to occupy you. We…kept in touch after you remarried. It was as if you could never get rid of me, no matter how much you wanted to."

She playfully swatted his arm, "Oh, you." She laughed, "Why would I want to get rid of you?"

Without warning, his expression darkened considerably, as if remembering a horrid memory from the past which had haunted him everyday for the past year and a half. "Some things are better left unanswered, my pet."1

Scarlett swallowed, sensing his utter sadness reverberating from his body and instantly dropped the subject, ending it with the words, "I never asked that question, I'm sorry."

He nodded and smiled down at her once again before a woman's voice sounded behind the two and quick footsteps to catch up were heard. The sound of shoes hitting the ground in an alternate patter and panting as a woman called out, "Scarlett? Scarlett, dear is that you?"

Scarlett turned suddenly; her arm still linked with Rhett's, her eyes held confusion. "Oh Scarlett it is you!" The two faced a short, stout woman with shining gray hair which was naturally curled and pinned high upon her head.

The confusion melted from her face and a bright smile formed upon her lips, her eyes sparkling. "Hello! I've been wonderful and you? I haven't seen you in ages! We were just talking about you recently wondering how you were." Scarlett exclaimed, nudging Rhett in the ribs lightly.

Rhett smiled, perplexity embedded in his liquid black eyes; this was the first time Aunt Pitty Pat noticed him. "Oh…Uh…Rhett…It's a shock seeing you back here." Pitty Pat forced a smile. Frankly, she didn't favor Rhett Butler too much because of the way he abandoned her after their little Bonnie and Melanie passed away.

Rhett attempted a smile with turned out to be more of a wince than anything, "Thank you, I'm glad to be back."

Aunt Pitty nodded then converted her attention toward her once niece. "Scarlett, we're having a little get together tomorrow. I would love it if you came so we could all catch up on lost time." Pitty nodded, no matter what anyone said, she still loved Scarlett, but she couldn't help but realize, with happiness, that she had changed drastically.

"Oh that would be lovely!" Scarlett exclaimed and glanced at Rhett shooting her eyebrows up quickly as if you say, 'help me along here' but he only responded by furrowing his brows and shaking his head ever so slightly in confusion. "We would love to. I would so enjoy seeing everyone again!"

"Good, good." Aunt Pitty Pat said eagerly and apprehensively all at the same time. She wasn't certain about how people would react to her inviting Scarlett and Rhett Butler to her little outing. "Until tomorrow then." She smiled at Scarlett, ignoring Rhett.

"Until tomorrow," Scarlett repeated and waved as the older woman departed, sweat forming at her temple.

Scarlett let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in and linked her arms with Rhett's once more as he continued to stare down at her in confusion. What was that? They continued to walk down the streets and when Scarlett was sure they were far enough away from the woman she whispered, "Rhett. Rhett who was that we were just talking to."

Rhett exploded in laugher which attracted much attention and stares from the few people dotting the road. It had just clicked so to speak; she had been acting as if she knew Aunt Pitty the whole time! Rhett's voice was hoarse from his laughter as he answered, "Oh you little fiend! You honestly didn't know who you were associating with do you?"

Scarlett hunched her shoulders up so that her ears were a few inches from the simple emerald green dress, her voice defensive, "No."

Rhett exploded into another peal of laughter which made Scarlett feel incredibly inferior as she bowed her head so he wouldn't see the hurt in her eyes. "Oh, Scarlett, darling don't be cross with me," he panted through his laughter, lifting up her chin.

"You make me feel as if I'm no smarter than a child, Rhett. You should know that your mockery is hurting to me. You know I had the accident and I don't remember anything, but I didn't want to hurt the woman's feeling by saying I didn't remember her." A tear rolled down her cheek as her hidden Irish temper began to blaze.

"I'm sorry Scarlett," Rhett apologized, now completely serious, wiping away the tear that had trickled down to the carve in her cheek. "It was not my intention to poke fun at you, my pet. That was Aunt Pitty Pat Hamilton, Melanie and Charles' aunt and the woman you lived with for many years."

"That was Aunt Pitty?" She asked disappointment in her voice because she could not remember for the life of her. "Oh Rhett, I wont remember anyone." She cried out in frustration before he wrapped his arms around her and she laid her head on his chest. "Rhett…Rhett will you please tell…tell everyone about what has happened and that I wont remember."

He nodded and kissed her brow before the two for the third time, took off for the house which Rhett wasn't particular at staying in with every fiber of his being.

_

* * *

__1Rhett is restating something Scarlett had said in chapter 10. Hahaha I just figured out how to put little subscripts on Microsoft Word!! Ahaha!!_

**A/N- Hey everyone! I have a really good idea of what I'm doing here on in, so hopefully there wont be much a delay in posting **

**Sorry to the people who had not read the alternate ending to the last chapter. I know a few people had read it but I changed it a few hours later. So I apologies to all who missed out, I may write it after the story is through.**

**I hope this chappy is enjoyable!!! Please Review!!**


	25. Blood of a Woman

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Twenty- Five**

Rhett guided Scarlett toward a large house, the lush, green lawn wrapping around a good few acres of land. Scarlett thought it to be the unsightly thing she had ever seen; the monstrous thing had a golden gate reaching a good eight feet and a fountain in the front for God sakes! It was the most grandiose thing and yet Scarlett held little to no interest in it. She could pick out all its faults; too big, too flamboyant, but yet, through its heinous exterior Scarlett thought it to be quite something.

Scarlett raised one ebony eyebrow before again beginning to walk only to be pulled back by large hands, laughter rumbling in his large chest. "Where are you going Scarlett, my pet?" Rhett asked continuing to chuckle, "Get back here."

Tilting her head and staring him in his dark eyes she could so easily get lost in, she made her way towards him. "Why are we here Rhett, I want to go home."

"You are home." He answered simply as he brandished a glinting golden key from the breast pocket of his jacket. Smirking as he witnessed Scarlett's jaw plummet instantaneously and her jaded orbs bulged out in sheer surprise.

"But…But…" She stammered seizing one of Rhett's large, muscular arms in her two little hands. "But Rhett!" She whispered curious yet shocked all at once, "Rhett, it's so ostentatious!"

He let out another chuckle as he unlocked the gate, watching, as it creaked vehemently and swung open just as it did the day the two returned from their honeymoon. He offered her his supporting arm once more and she took it in a daze. "I see your taste has improved considerably."

Scarlett could not answer as he lead her up the extended pathway leading to the large double doors made of the best oak. It looked as if the house had been abandoned for a good few years, allowing the shrubbery to twist and turn, entwining its branches with that of the trees next to it.

She let out a gasp as her eyes beheld the sight. I was something to be described. Rhett unlocked the front door to reveal a grand foyer laden with portraits, expensive velvet carpeting and other very wealthy items. There were portraits of herself with a coy smile upon her lips and in gowns that must have weighed a good twenty pounds because of all the detail and jewels. There were little porcelain vases and figurines, which decked the room.

Rhett left her side and began to draw open the deep red colored curtains in the foyer and the dining room as well as the sitting room allowing the beams of light to illuminate their surroundings which made everything look even more delicate than before. Scarlett could not believe she had once actually lived here; it appeared too extremely surreal.

Scarlett began to meander about the foyer as Rhett made his way up the majestic staircase draped in a velvet fabric lugging his suitcase up with him. He figured he had better let Scarlett wander a bit for something might trigger her memory; he would be down in a few moments.

As Scarlett glanced about in awe she saw a deep red stain at the base of the stairs. It looked as if it had been scrubbed numerous times in an attempt to get out this discolor to no avail. It looked as if it were a relatively new soil; done three years ago at the most.

Scarlett gently got down on her knees before it, the redness seemingly jumping out at her as if saying something. She furrowed her ebony brows, her green eyes concentrating solely on the stain before her. Gingerly she raised her right hand and ran her fingers across the messied carpet. Everything around her halted suddenly.

_Unbelievable delight. Wonderful news. Sadness. A man was spitting insults at her. Incredible anger. Balled up fists. Grinding of teeth. Eyes of fury. Lunging forward in a mad attempt to inflict pain upon the one who had done onto you. He moved away. Falling. Screaming. Falling. Screaming. Blackness as she landed in a large pool of her own blood, red and shimmering in the candlelight. Inhaling the scent of death._

Scarlett gasped loudly as hot, salty tears poured from her eyes. Terror was in her emerald eyes as she attempted to stand upright. Unable to support her weight, she scrambled away from the stain of blood. She could still smell it; undergoing the copper taste of blood that seemed to hang pungent in her parched mouth. She could feel the liquid under her fingers as she lay listlessly on the floor flirting with death.

In a frenzied attempt to get as far away as possible from the stain, she back bumped into something. She looked up, her eyes filled with unending fright as she looked into the liquid black eyes of Rhett. She threw her arms about his legs and sobbed into them.

Rhett sat down with difficultly for her arms were wrapped tightly about his calves. He took the shaken girl in his arms and rocked her back and forth, rubbing her back. He had come downstairs moments before, watching as Scarlett stared almost lifelessly at the carpet, trembling.

"I was falling forever." She croaked, burring her face in his cravat, inhaling his unusual sent of cigars, brandy and a smell that could only be described as Rhett. "I was falling and falling down these very stairs. I could taste the blood, I could feel death's grasp upon me, Rhett. I'm frightened."

Rhett's heart broke as he tightened his hold upon her, whispering in her ear again and again. "It's alright Scarlett. I promise everything is going to be all right. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I'm _never_ going to let anything happen to you. Not again, my darling, not ever again."

There they sat, their hearts calling out for one another and she knew. Scarlett knew that she loved this man. She had been trying to conceal her feelings and push them down into the bowels of her soul, but it was useless. She loved him wholeheartedly and always would.

**A/N- Hello everyone!!! I hope this chappy is to everyone's liking. I worked hard on it...even ask my beta. **

**I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable break and have fun!!!!!**

**Please review! eternal rose 45**


	26. Scarlett's Revelation

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's novel _Gone with the Wind. _(And some background from Alexandra Ripley's novel _Scarlett_)

**Chapter Twenty- Six**

She sat, enveloped in his strong, muscular arms, her salty tears continuing to flow down her magnolia white skin. She felt safe within his arms, she felt safe just being near him. He was a wonderful friend to comfort her…Her train of though was lost momentarily as his words came back to her full blow. _'I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I'm _never_ going to let anything happen to you. Not again, my darling, not ever again.'_

There was a small voice in the back of her head, which whispered incoherently and inaudibly to her, there was something she was not understanding. Why had he a key to her home? Why was he so…friendly so to speak? "Rhett?" she whispered her body trembling within his grasp. "Rhett, I…I want to know the truth, and don't you dare lie to me." Her voice trembled violently.

"What is it Scarlett?" he asked his tanned cheek still resting delicately atop her hairline.

"We were not just friends before my accident, were we?" She asked feeling him stiffen slightly. She laid her head upon his chest and took in his unusual scent which she so loved. "What were we Rhett? You have seemed to make it clear that we were not married. What of my husband?"

_Oh damn it Scarlett!_ His mind moaned as he held her closer to him. _Oh good God I wish you knew._ "Scarlett…" he took a deep breath, he had lied so many times in the past few months; one more would do no harm. "Your third husband divorced you a good five years ago. I began courting you three years later and have been ever since."

There was a silence between them before Rhett continued, "I know what you are thinking Scarlett, why wasn't I with you when the carriage crashed…" Scarlett gasped for he had hit a soft spot; hit the nail on the head so to say. He smiled and whispered, "You were never hard to read, dear." The smile soon dropped from his handsome features as he continued his sham. "You and I were at odds for a while and I left to get away for a while; to forget everything we had ever said to each other. I had never been so angry in my life."

"Time, though, had passed and I was searching for you for you had moved numerous times and no one knew where you were. It was sheer luck that night when I saw you at the performance of Romeo and Juliet many months ago…"

Scarlett gasped once more and looked up at him. She remembered his angered gaze, which instantaneously turned to shock as she turned around. She remembered his liquid dark eyes and the way he stood erect and important. "Rhett, that was you?"

He smiled sadly, his dark eyes heavy, no longer full of mocking or jest as they usually were. "Yes my dear, that was I." He brushed a stray piece of hair from her eyes to see that they were glistening. "I was very fortunate that I found you. I asked around town and they gave me your new address." He began to chuckle slightly, "Then you attempted to shove a poker through my skull. I must admit, it was a wonderful welcoming present."

This made Scarlett laugh quietly as she clutched onto his tailored jacket as if, if she let him go, he would float away and be gone forever. She had taken for granted his company the past few months, but deep inside she knew that if he left, she would be so lost. He was the one who had told her some about her past. He was the one who guided her through everything. He was the one she loved.

She widened her eyes slightly, which went unnoticed by Rhett whose eyes were close and his chin resting on her hairline. She had not come to the realization until now. She loved him. Why else would her stomach flutter and her heart skip a beat whenever he entered the room? Why else would she long for his touch when he was gone?

Scarlett always though love was superficial from the books she had read. Girl and boy meet and one falls desperately in love with the other and they charm each other to no end until other realizes that they are the only one they pawn for. Was that not what happens in book?

That was not correct though. She felt…alive. Jane Austen and The Bronte Sisters failed to mention the feeling of flying through time and space, love swelling in her body. She held to him tighter as her head spun with thoughts. This is what love felt like. She smiled against his cravat again taking in his scent.

Scarlett's breathing slowed as she went deeper and deeper into thought, her fingers still around folds of his jacket. She closed her eyes, the smile still on her lips when Rhett, who had assumed she had fallen asleep a good twenty minutes ago, interrupted her thoughts, whispering, "I love you, my darling."

"I love you too."

**A/N- Hey everyone!! Sorry I haven't posted sooner, I was working on an original composition and I shoved _Against All Odds_ to the side. It won't happen again :)**

**I hope everyone liked this chappy! Please review!**


	27. Tension Alike

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's fabulous novel _Gone with the Wind. _

**Chapter Twenty- Seven**

Scarlett had her thin arm intertwined with Rhett's as they sauntered down the streets of Atlanta, watching as the wind whipped around them, as if the invisible, spiraling tendrils played a never-ending game of cat and mouse. Leaves of red, yellow and brown twisted around houses gently, the corners of their paper-thin selves crinkly in the seemingly infinite breeze.

Rhett's jet black, liquid eyes clouded over slightly. Even though there was a great deal on his jumbled mind to keep him occupied for weeks, his thoughts kept roaming lethargically to the previous night again and again, continuously playing and replaying the sweet scene again as if it would be a beautiful indication of things to come.

She had whispered those three beseeching words so silently, so tenderly; that he was quite skeptical as to whether those words for which he had waited so many years to hear were undeniably, for him. But alas, her breath, slow and steady, suddenly got caught in her chest as he pulled her away from him with a bit too much venom and confusion for the look on her pale face was utter sadness and yet, in her shimmering jaded orbs, there was the faintest glimmer of hope. The foundation of said hope, nearly crumbled under the weight of disappointment at his reaction to her heartfelt response.

Gently he raised a large, tanned hand and affectionately tucked loose curls of her ebony locks behind her ear, smiling; for once, he refused to suppress his feelings for her. Feelings that were buried deep within the confines of an invisible barrier he had build up about his broken heart the day she revealed to him that she no longer wanted to share a room, for she wanted nothing more to do with children. Taking what remained of his wounded dignity, he created an immobilized barrier surrounding his shattered heart and nothing she could do, could cause this monstrous structure to fracture. Or so he thought.

Rhett swept her hunched body in a tight embrace, his great, protective arms wrapped firmly around the petite figure. Scarlett, surprised by this action to say the least, returned the hold with a grip as tight as his, her heart swelling in her breast. For so long, emotions had been hiding in the dungeons of the heart, secretly locked up in a jail cell meant for only misery, screaming and yearning to break free of their bindings. Emotions that had long since been scorched by hatred and numbed by pain had come forth, causing both eyes to water.

The two did nothing more than cling to each other desperately in the darkness that engulfed the vast foyer, Scarlett's tear-stained face obscured in the welcoming crook of Rhett's neck, crying tears of happiness as she ran her thin fingers through his thick black hair. Rhett rubbed her back gently and whispered sweet nothings in her ear, tightening his grasp upon her as if frightened that if he let go, she would slip away into the oblivion forever.

Seconds turned to minutes and minutes to an hour before Rhett slowly pushed himself off the velvet carpet, which he so despised, Scarlett still in his strong arms. Their legs had the abnormal sensation of pins and needles sticking and prodding their feet and legs, yet it did not phase them as he silently carried her up the grand staircase, showing her to her previous room, once a room shared by the both of them years and years ago.

It was there that he bit her goodnight, his heart and mind spinning incessantly as he kissed her temple softly, wrapping his arms tightly about her once more. Scarlett smiled, yet she desperately wished with every fiber of her being that he would scoop her up in his arms and kiss her so passionately that he knees would give way.

Instead, to her dismay, he departed in the direction of his room. As soon as the door closed behind him, he rummaged urgently in his old bureau, tattered by midnight rages in which her yearned for the one woman who cared not an inch for him. He brandished a dust-covered bottle of brandy, toasting with darkness, his heart bursting with indescribable joy at her words. The nursed the amber colored liquid, smiling to himself, as he repeated her words over and over in his mind. _'I love you too…'_

Rhett was pulled from his reverie by an unwavering stare, and looking down, Scarlett smiled up at him genuinely, laying her head on his arm lightly. Little did they realize were the stares they were attracting from Mrs. Merriweather and Mrs. Elsing whose brows were raised incredulously. They hadn't expected those two back there, for they wanted nothing to do with the fast Scarlett O'Hara nor Rhett Butler, the horrid man who had not even attended Melanie Wilkes' funeral.

Rhett reached behind Scarlett's head and brushed a piece of hair that had fallen from Scarlett's French twist and tucked it behind her ear as she wrapped her shawl tighter about her body as the wind began to pick up under warm sun. Again she smiled; her soft emerald eyes were stripped down to reveal nothing but the love for her heart. The two older women shoved their noses in the air and glanced at each other. This was odd behavior, especially for the Butlers.

"Rhett?" Scarlett asked, cocking her head to the left slightly, questioning clouding her jaded orbs as apprehension gripped her insides, twisting it until she thought she would be sick. "Rhett, will you introduce everyone to me, or whisper their names in my ear, for I am afraid…I'm afraid… bear in mind that I…I do not remember who is going to be there. I don't want them to know that I'm…" Racking her mind for the correct word in which she could not find, whispered, "disabled."

He smiled at her innocence, stopping and taking her hands in his, caressing her knuckles with his thumbs. "I promise you my dear, I will not fail you. I will stay by your side throughout this whole little rendezvous."

She smiled once more, knowing that she was protected as he again held out his muscular arm, covered in a fine black fabric, to her, which she took graciously. The two meandered the remainder of the way, talking in hushed voices of the two children they had left behind in Chattanooga. Both loved having another to love and be loved by, and soon enough, they were at the quaint little house the Wilkes' called home.

Scarlett took a deep breath and squared her shoulder, as if preparing for battle as Rhett whispered in her ear, "Are you ready, my pet?" She nodded in agreement; her eyes set staring ahead and her stomach churning as Rhett brought up his great fist and knocked heavily on the oak wood door that matched the color of the small fence that surrounded the diminutive front garden.

A woman in her forties, Scarlett believed, with hair the color of dirt, with streaks of gray along her temples. The skin about her eyes was wrinkled; her dull chocolate eyes narrow slits, a scowl on her plain and homely face. If she smiled every once and again, she might have been somewhat pretty Scarlett believed, but when the woman laid eyes on Scarlett, the lines around her mouth went down even farther than normal, making her look like an increasingly ugly dog. The antebellumstared at the two before her for a second, before she hissed, "What do you want Scarlett?"

Scarlett's smile however, did not falter; instead she held her head high, and action in which the corners of Rhett's lips curled down in an amused smile. She had not changed, she was the same Scarlett deep down inside and would always be. "Aunt Pitty invited me. So if you please, point me in the direction of the get together." Scarlett knew she must not have had a fine relationship with this woman, for she did a horrible job covering her animosity.

The woman snorted vociferously, thrusting opening the door wider, for she was not daft enough to take on Scarlett with her husband standing beside her protectively, his arm about her waist. "The backyard." Was the last thing the spiteful woman uttered before she was greeted with more guests that came to the door.

When Scarlett and Rhett were far enough away, Scarlett turned her head towards Rhett, taking his large, warm hand in her own chilled one, whispering "What a _pleasant_ woman." Upon saying this, Rhett t burst into laughter, stroking the back of her hand lightly, kneading her flesh gently with his rough thumbs which signaled his adoration for her.

"India Wilkes." Rhett answered, his voice light with laughter, his liquid black eyes dancing with delight and adoration for the woman at his side. "Niece to Aunt PittyPat and sister-in-law to Melanie Wilkes. Destined to be a old spinster for the rest of her life."

Without warning, Pitty Pat come into view out of nowhere, linking her arm with Scarlett's free one, glad for her company. "Hello Scarlett, darling!" The stout woman exclaimed, her cheeks eternally red, smelling salts his in the hidden between the folds of her dress which were sewn together secretly to create a small pocket. "I have some people I would like you to meet. Come with me, dear."

As Aunt Pitty Pat began to guide her away from Rhett, Scarlett glanced behind her shoulder, a pleading look upon her beauteous face. He quickly picked up the pace of her steps and followed beside her. She let out a breath she was not aware she was holding in when he appeared at her side, flashing her a small smile and raising a jet black eyebrow; she was safe.

Pitty Pat halted before a large collection of people, about ten or twelve, before she smiled at Scarlett and nodded her head toward an elderly woman with thinning grey hair and dull gray eyes that were encased in wrinkles and softened with years of motherhood and hardships. "Scarlett dear, this is Mrs. Amelia Boston, she just moved in across the way, in that quaint little whitewashed home, you remember? Of course you remember the neighbors, Fanny Elsing and her husband, Rene and Maybelle Picard, Mrs. Merriweather, Mrs. Elsing, Mrs. Meade, Honey is in town this week as well as The Fontaine brothers. It was a wonderful coincidence that you showed up when everyone else had!"

Everyone bowed their head toward Scarlett and some, such as the Fontaine Brother, Maybelle Picard and Fanny Elsing came forward to speak with her, smiles upon their face as they greeted their childhood friend. Yet even though Rhett stood but a few steps behind, he could plainly perceive that she was feeling overwhelmed by the abundant questions and so many people about her, whom she had no recollection of. It was as if she were a small child in a sea of adults, and she had no clue as to what was going on or who was whom.

Rhett stepped up behind her, linking her arm into his protectively as if to say she was no one but his and untouchable for if someone so much as laid a finger on her, he would, with much satisfaction, see to it that they were in so much pain, that they could not speak. She swiftly became quite tranquil and it was visible on her young face that she was completely comfortable in his company, even if everyone around them was quite skeptical. Scarlett managed quick greetings to everyone before Rhett turned them around, wandering the rather large plot covered in beautiful flowers.

This was all so overwhelming to Scarlett; she let out a sigh and laid her head upon Rhett's shoulder as they took a seat on a wooden bench which sat low under a weeping willow. Just as she began to calm, a man with a blonde tint to his hair came towards them. He seemed very…meek was the only word that came to mind. It looked as if he was far older in spirit that in body. He was somewhat slouched over when he walked as if most of his world was gone, never to return; his gray eyes held eternal sadness that would never be erased. A boy about eleven was with him, and her was running toward her, both had adorned large smiles.

"Auntie Scarlett! Auntie Scarlett!" The boy exclaimed as he ran toward the startled woman, throwing his arms about her waist causing her to loose her gripping on Rhett's arm and stumble backwards, throwing her head back so that her hair cascaded down her back gently, laughing. She knew not of the boy she was holding, but that didn't seem to matter to Scarlett.

"Hello little one!" Scarlett laughed as she squatted down slightly to hug the thin boy, ruffling chocolate hair trying with all her might to think of the child's name at the same time. When in seeing this, the beast that lay dormant in Rhett's chest began to grumble and hiss inwardly. She treated Beau Wilkes with love when she didn't even know the child, but whilst his precious Bonnie was alive, she could scarcely give her the time of day.

Scarlett pulled the child away from her to look into his face, familiarity clouding her vision. She had seen his eyes once before, for they were such pretty eyes, filled with love and curiosity for life, as if always wondering what lay beyond the life he was set to. She squinted slightly and cocked her heard to the left, biting her lip, pondering.

Scarlett stood slowly, watching the child as she did so, her brows furrowed ever so slightly as she reached behind her to find Rhett. He was instantly at her side, his arm about her waist protectively as she looked up at him questioningly, searching for more answers, her lips parted slightly as she closed her eyes tightly, wracking her brain.

"Scarlett, darling, how have you been? We haven't heard from you form nearly two years. We were all so worried; it was almost as if you disappeared off the face of the earth." The blonde haired man said, smiling, even though his saddened, gray eyes betrayed him. Sadness was embedded in his dull orbs and looked as if it had been there for an extremely long while. Something had altered his life drastically forever.

She felt Rhett tense at her side, his muscles tightening as he let out an almost noiseless sound from deep within his throat, his eyes flickering anger. She had a strong feeling that Rhett disliked them man standing before her, a smile plastered to his placid face and his eyes losing some of the depression that seeded itself in him from seeing someone from his past, like she was his sister. She glanced up and saw Rhett's nostrils flaring dangerously; yet the man blindly hadn't noticed.

Scarlett laid a reassuring hand on Rhett's arm, squeezing it tenderly, smiling up at him before again, turning to the unfamiliar man and sticking out her hand a plane gold band shimmered upon her index finger, but there was no wedding ring, which caused the man to furrow his brows and rub his chin slightly confused. "It's a pleasure sir."

The man twisted his blonde head slightly and inclined his head frontward, his brows furrowing even more, so much so, that they looked as if they were combined as one. "Scarlett?" Even Rhett was looking at her funny, yet with a triumphant gleam in his dark eyes as if he were proud for not remembering, that he was proud of her for not jumping into his arms.

"If you will excuse us sir, I wish to speak with my friend on a certain matter alone. Thank you." Scarlett said, smiling at the gaping man, unsure of what he was witnessing. Did she just call her husband her _friend_? This woman was not the same broken woman he had seen a little less than two years ago, standing in the rain before his wife's tombstone, sobbing for a lost friend and an unloving husband.

As Rhett guided her away from the unfamiliar man, as she whispered, "Rhett, who were those two? I swear those…those eyes the little boy had looked so familiar I thought I was having déjà vu." She shook her head as he laid a small kiss on her hairline. "I don't remember the father though, but I do feel sorry for him, unlike you. What went on between you two that you seem to despise him so much?"

"It is not that I despise him Scarlett," he lied quite well, his eyes never hinting anything wrong, yet his dark, liquid eyes were filled with memories. "I'm just not very fond of him. I never was, and can tell you, never will be. And he, my darling, was Ashley Wilkes, Melanie Wilkes' husband and the child you were holding was her son, Beaugard Wilkes. You helped deliver him into this world." His eyes clouded with memories.

"You were so frightened that night." He chuckled slightly, caressing her hand which lay in his own. "The whole town of Atlanta had evacuated because of the siege and yet, the doctor wouldn't permit you, the Southern Belle who always received her way, to leave, for someone had to deliver the babe, and you were the only one.

"Beau was born in mid afternoon, and you sent your maid, Prissy to find me and tell me to bring a carriage, and I could not refuse, but when I arrived at the home, you were a nervous wreck, my dear, and was frightened with you, for I hated so much seeing you so distressed and scared."

Scarlett's emerald eyes widened as she glanced over at the man, who was watching her and Rhett, confusion in his gray eyes. Melanie Wilkes' husband and child. She shook her head silently as Rhett placed large, comforting hands on her thin shoulders and whispered quietly, "You remembered Beau's eyes because they were Melanie's didn't you." She nodded.

Scarlett looked at the man once more before starting toward him with Rhett on her heels. Tears were in her beautiful green eyes as she reached the man and whispered. "I am so sorry about you're wife, Mr. Wilkes. She was a great lady, and my best friend." Scarlett stopped, tears running down her cheeks as Rhett offered her his handkerchief. "I'm so sorry Mr. Wilkes."

Scarlett turned quickly and threw herself into Rhett's open and comforting arms, her face buried in the crook of his neck, weeping. Rhett looked up from Scarlett to Ashley, his gray eyes filled with hot tears as well as confusion. Ashley looked up at Rhett for a moment as he rubbed Scarlett's back with his large hands, his eyes seeking knowledge. Rhett only shook his head.

Ashley scooped up his child who was also looking quite confused, asking his father why his strong Auntie Scarlett was crying, for he had never seen her cry before. Apparently he had not been following the conversation but watching the leaves dance about the yard in a tango of colors.

When they were gone, Rhett placed his lips near her ear and whispered, "It's alright my darling, I'm here. Everything will be alright." He took back his thin piece of linen that Scarlett was holding out to him, placing it in his breast pocket as Scarlett threw her arms about his neck, leading her to a table set out for the day.

Ashley returned not but ten minutes later asking to speak with Rhett his confusion running deep, in which, Rhett excused himself, leaving a peck upon Scarlett's forehead watching her smile sadly for him. His heart stopped beating for a moment, wanting running through his veins but he didn't have time to dwell, for Ashley cleared his throat and the two men excused themselves once more.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Ashley asked, "Mr. Butler, what is the matter with Scarlett? It's like she remembers nothing. She did not seem herself, Rhett and I am quite concerned, for Scarlett has always been like a sister to me. A dear sister who I could confide things in and now, Mr. Butler, she seems very far away, and she called you friend which I though was unlikely. Please ease my worries Mr. Butler."

Rhett had to fight down the urge to turn and collide his fist into Mr. Wilkes' jaw, taking enjoyment in it.

"You need not be concerned for Scarlett, Mr. Wilkes. These past two years have been hard on the both of us, more for her than anything, Mr. Wilkes, but she is going to be alright, for I am seeing to her as well as the nurse her sister Careen had her doctor have hired." His voice ran deep with emotion and he sighed. "I'm not going to leave her alone anymore."

"What do you mean she's 'going to be alright?'" Ashley suddenly broke out, his blood pounding in his temple. Was Scarlett alright? "What do you mean 'the doctor and the nurse'? Do not think that I don't know what I have done. I know that I led Scarlett on a chase that she could never win, but Mr. Butler, she was from my past, and… Mr. Butler, Scarlett is like my sister, please."

Rhett's eyes filled with great anger as he hissed, "Oh, yes Mr. Wilkes," he spat, his eyes blazing with a deep seeded fire, "you never wanted to hurt her! She was just a child, and she knew no better, holding onto a fantasy never to come true. I loved Scarlett so much Mr. Wilkes, and the more time she spent with you, damn it, the more distant she became from me."

Ashley swallowed hard, nodding, "I know, Mr. Butler, I know, and you don't know how sorry I am, but please, is she alright?"

Sadness and never-ending regret replaced the anger in his eyes as Rhett answered, "Scarlett was in a carriage accident a little over a year and a half ago. She had suffered from much head trauma, Mr. Wilkes, which is why she called me 'friend'. Scarlett doesn't remember anyone from before the accident save for your wife and Bonnie." Rhett's voice cracked slightly. "Her memory is gone."

**A/N- I do hope this is better now that I tweaked it.**

**Please review.**


	28. Society Is Always Watching

**A/N- moabbess, I apologize if I have confused you, for the old cats of Atlanta were not spying on our favorite pair through their window. Scarlett and Rhett were meandering down the street when the old guard spotted them. **

**"_Rhett_ _was pulled from his reverie by an unwavering stare_, and looking down, Scarlett smiled up at him genuinely, laying her head on his arm lightly. Little did they realize were the stares they were attracting from Mrs. Merriweather and Mrs. Elsing whose brows were raised incredulously. They hadn't expected those two back there, for they wanted nothing to do with the fast Scarlett O'Hara nor Rhett Butler, the horrid man who had not even attended Melanie Wilkes' funeral." **

**Rhett was reminiscing on the previous night and he felt eyes on the back of his head. They were never spying on them in his room. :)**

**I hope this clears everything up :)**

**Disclaimer: **Gone with the Wind is not mine. All relations come from Mrs. Margaret Mitchell's fabulous novel _Gone with the Wind. _

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

Ashley was completely silent as his eyes widened and he raked his abnormally large, bony fingers through his graying hair. Rhett witnessed his adversaries eyes waver on the verge of consciousness, as if recollections were overcoming his ample brain, squeezing its contents in a scorched death grip until Ashley Wilkes' watery grey eyes widened wildly, whispering in a shaking voice which was so incredibly unlike normally composed demeanor, "Oh, Good Lord in Heaven."

Closing his watering eyes, he made the sign of the cross against his chest as he frightfully turned towards Rhett. "Oh, Good God!" Ashley cried gently pushing his son away from the tête-à-tête toward a group of vociferous children attempting to scale a rotted tree. "Scarlett, she was the woman in the dreadful accident I overheard of many a month ago, wasn't she?"

Rhett's puzzlement astonished the honorable Ashley as did the anger which suddenly appeared in his usually suave tone. "I'm sure I have no idea as to what you are saying Mr. Wilkes. There was no news of my wife's accident, to me, nor no one. The only women who knew of this were her sister Careen and her nurse Ms. Lombardi."

Ashley shook his graying head solemnly, his grey eyes filled with worry for his childhood friend Scarlett, "No Mr. Butler, there was gossip…" Ashley stopped momentarily as fury crossed the liquid black eyes of Rhett Butler. "My sister Honey overheard the news from Hetty Tarleton a little over a year and a half ago. I'm sorry you have had to learn about this news from me."

The only response the meek Wilkes received was a curt nod of the head and a gust of chilled wind as Rhett took off towards his wife who was sitting with the elderly Amelia Boston, her plain russet dress contrasting with the deep emerald of Scarlett's own simple one. She glanced up feeling his dark eyes upon her and she smiled a smile which made Rhett's breath catch in his chest as he answered her smile with a subtle wink as the corners of his lips curled down on one of his unusual grins. Scarlett felt color rush into her cheeks as she glanced down at her petite, pale hands which lay idly in her lap as Mrs. Boston continued on about a quaint little garden she had seen in Rome, Georgia a few weeks ago.

"Excuse me, Madame Boston." Rhett's deep voice filled the air around the two women causing Scarlett to become giddy with happiness. Elderly Amelia turned in her seat to look up at the debonair man who stood behind them. "If it would not be an inconvenience Ma'am, I would like to pilfer my dear Scarlett from you." He smiled broadly showing his bright white teeth, bowing deeply at the waist as if he was in debt to the woman. Scarlett had to press the smooth back of her hand to her red lips to suppress her gay laughter.

Amelia smiled as she nodded gently; Rhett took the woman's elbow aiding her upward. She smiled her thanks as he settled himself next to Scarlett his smile broad yet his eyes filled with sadness and worry. Scarlett placed a tiny gloved hand on Rhett's shoulder whispering, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing you should be concerned with, my dear." He answered, placing a small kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes and met him in an embrace, wishing so desperately that he would kiss her, a real kiss, not the pecks on the cheek and forehead. Her body seemed to ache, yet she loved him nonetheless. "It's a matter of affairs which is out of our hands now. Don't worry, I am here, just be strong."

As if on cue, the Fontaine brothers approached them looking as if they were having an outer body experience. Tony's eyes were widened slightly and his face was stark white as he knelt before his childhood friend and took one of her tiny hands in his own rough ones. "Scarlett darling, how are you feeling? Are you alright?"

Scarlett smiled at the handsome man before her and patted his hand gently, "Yes sir, I am fine, I can assure you." She flashed one of her rare genuine smiles which were become none too scarce and turned to Alex noticing the resemblance. "You are brother I presume?"

"Scarlett," Tony was disbelieving, his mind unable to grasp the concept of her ailment. His broth though, had stood there, his bushy head bowed. Tony was almost pleading now. What happened to the brave young woman who had harbored him for a night here and there when he was on the run? Was she somewhere inside this new woman who lacked the vitality of life she used to posses? "Scarlett you don't remember me? It's Tony. Come on honey, we lived in Clayton Country."

Scarlett pushed herself closer to Rhett who in turn tightened his grip upon her waist as salty, frustrated tears trekked down her pale cheeks. She wanted to remember, oh how she wanted to remember everything. She still knew little to nothing save for her precious baby girl and Melanie Wilkes, but even with Rhett to guide her through the darkness, she was lost in the sea of fear and unknown knowledge.

Scarlett shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry Tony, I…" She could not go on, for now there was a group of people watching her every movement, her every word. It was as if she were an outcast placed in a showcase surrounded by people from her past. The knocked on the window and prodded the case until she though she would explode.

Scarlett could take it no longer; she removed her hands from Tony's, breaking free of Rhett's grip at the same time. She lost her footing for a moment and knocked into Alex who caught her by the waist and looked into her eyes for a split moment before she burst into silent, discouraged tears began to trickle from the striking emerald eyes. Those eyes which used to make every man in the south weak at the knees now held confusion and chaos.

Everyone knew of Scarlett's accident by now indefinitely, but everyone nearly chocked on whatever they were eating or drinking when the scandalous Rhett Butler stood, gently touched his wife's trembling shoulder. She turned toward him and walked into his open arms. He caressed her ebony curls and whispering solaces in her ear.

No one fully grasped the concept of what was taking place before them. Everyone at the barbeque, save for Amelia Boston knew of the troubles that the inclement Scarlett O'Hara and the renegade Rhett Butler had gone through. No matter how much they assumed that their walls could shield their screaming matches, they could not. They were exceedingly adroit at premeditating insults to spit at each other, and on the off occasion before their lovely daughter Bonnie was born, they would quarrel in public.

After Bonnie's unfortunate death, everything spiraled downward at an alarming rate for the couple. Scarlett blamed him for their daughter's death and many thought that he believed her. He locked himself in Bonnie's bedroom with his dead daughter, going insane. Mammy had begged Melanie to come and be an amicable pawn and friend to the nearly daft Mr. Butler.

The night when Melanie died they had a large falling out and he left her. It was common knowledge that he wanted a divorce, and yet even though she one threw herself on the late Melanie's husband, she refused, begging him to stay. Many believe that that was the night Scarlett realized how much she really loved the scallywag for everyone had known that she had loved him long before herself. How ironic that the wife be the last to know her adoration for Rhett.

Rhett had come to Melanie's funeral, but had stayed a great distance away from his wife refusing to comfort her, but now she was in his strong, supportive arms, her face buried in the crook of his neck. From the way they held each other under the large willow tree displayed their feelings for each other. They adored each other.

Rhett pulled away from her slightly, producing a piece of small linen, softly wiping away the few tears that had plastered themselves to her delicate face, whispering playfully, "My dear Scarlett, I have never know you to carry a handkerchief at any moment of your life."

She laughed and answered, "Why should I carry them when you're always here to offer one of them to me."

Rhett threw back his head and laughed merrily as Scarlett turned to face the bewildered Tony and Alex, offering them her tiny hand and said, "You are Tony and Alexander correct? It is a pleasure to meet you. I would like to get to now you again."

**A/N- Hello all! I thank you for your support, but I am afraid this chapter is nothing more than a heap of garbage. I have been very stressed as of late and had barely found time to write this. I wanted to get something out before I began my hiatus. I'm doing some soul searching to see if I really want to continue to write. If you really want to read something else, I have posted a story on under the same pen name.**

**Again I am sorry for and I hope you will all stick with me. **

**I wish you all a wonderful and happy new year. I wish the best of luck to you all.**

**eternal rose 45**


	29. Better Left Unanswered

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Scarlett sat on the soft, green grass with the Fontaine brothers sitting before her on the bench recounting stories of their childhood. They were beaming down at her as they reminisced way back to those steamy summer afternoons at Tara. Scarlett has challenged the boys saying that she could climb a tree faster than any of the boys in Atlanta, and they young fireball truly believed it.

"You were like lightning, honey!" Tony chuckled, gently knocking her chin upwards with his curved index finger. "You beat Alex and me by a long shot!"

Alex quickly budded in, "And then there was that time, right before the war… Stu Tarleton told me many years ago… You three was sittin' on your porch at old Tara and the twins were talking about nothing but war! 'You know those fool Yanks may actually _want_ a war?' Stu says."

"'We'll show 'em!' said Brent!" budded Tony.

Scarlett broke out in a fit of laughter, placing her petite right hand on Tony's leg. "And I said Fiddle-dee-dee! War, war, war; this war talk's spoiling all the fun at every party this spring…" Suddenly she stopped. Tony and Alex, their eyes wild, beamed at each other. Sitting nearby was Rhett who jumped up out of his chair, his mouth open slightly as excitement coursed through his veins.

"I said Fiddle-dee-dee…" Realization coming to her as memories of the conversation with the two deceased Tarleton boys came flooding back. Rapidly a smile appeared upon her lips as she threw back her head and laughed. "I said Fiddle-dee-dee!"

Tony scooped up the small woman in his arms and twirled her around, whooping all along. Tony, Alex, and Scarlett were engulfed in laughter as Rhett stood off to the side. Alex soon took the young woman in his arms and kissed her forehead. "I remember!" Scarlett cried out. "I remember!"

Rhett was at her side instantly, his arm around her waist, whispering in her ear. She turned to face him, beaming up at him. "Rhett, I remember what I said…" She laughed once more, "Fiddle-dee-dee…"

"Do you remember anything else, Scarlett darling?" Rhett asked; hope bubbling up in his chest. This could be it. She remembered her words, could she remember her husband?

The laughter stopped and her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. After what seemed like an eternity, she shook her head softly and whispered, "No, I'm sorry, but this is a start."

Later that night, Rhett stood on the porch, his hands gripping the smooth, wooden banister loosely as his mind wandered. Was this his fault? If, on that night Scarlett came to him all those months ago, he had opened his arms to her… would she still have her memory? Would she want him if she _does _by chance begin to remember?

Rhett sighed and looked out on to the monstrosity that he once called his back lawn. It really was atrocious. He had never remembered it being so ostentatious when he had built it. _But then again_, Rhett though, _things change and people change._ And he had certainly changed.

He was once a man full of life and love for a vixen of a creature named Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler. He was not the only one to fall completely head over heels for the woman, be he was the only man to love her unconditionally even with all her faults. Her faults, however soon overshadowed her 'good' so to speak and he left not knowing what else to do… what a fool he had been.

He felt a small hand upon his shoulder. "Look who we have here. Rhett Kinnicut catching his own cold!" He could hear the obvious good-natured jest in her voice, but he was in no mood which Scarlett soon realized. "What's the matter Rhett?"

"If only you knew, Scarlett."

Scarlett sighed and took her place standing next to Rhett. A long silence followed suit, a silence Scarlett broke as she stated, "I've been thinking lately…"

"Heaven help us." Rhett remarked chuckling lightly, his mood lifting now that Scarlett was beside him.

"I've been thinking…" Scarlett reiterated, "Maybe I'm a lost cause. It's been a year and a half. Maybe I should just give up trying. I had a break-though today, but that was the first in weeks. I… I don't know Rhett."

Rhett gently grabbed Scarlett's shoulders and answered, "Don't you ever think that Scarlett." Without warning, Rhett took her into his arms, clutching her to his chest. She felt at home. Nothing was better than his warm embrace.

Another silence engulfed them in which they reveled the feel of the other body pressed against their own longing one. Scarlett loved the way he held her, whispering assuring words in her ear. She loved his arms, his face, his voice. She was in love, she would admit, a feeling she thought she never possessed. "Do you want to know what my deepest fear is?"

"Of course, Scarlett."

"I'm scared of never fully remembering. I'm frightened of not knowing my past, or my husband. I'm scared of the unknown…" Scarlett raised her glance to Rhett's swarthy and intoxicatingly handsome face before whispering, "what is yours?"

Rhett released her and turned back toward the backyard his mind reeling. "In due time Scarlett, you will know, but…"

"No Rhett," Scarlett interrupted, "Rhett I… I don't know anything about you and yet you know me better than I know myself. What are you hiding from me, dear? I want to know you. Please."

Rhett's temper flared suddenly, and he hissed, "I am a difficult book to understand Scarlett."

Scarlett was taken aback. Her mouth opened gently as she took a step backwards, her brows furrowed. "What has gotten into you Rhett? I don't understand you anymore."

"You never understood me, my pet. Not even before the accident." He answered curtly.

Scarlett grabbed his hands desperately and turned him towards her. "Well then let me understand. Tell me!"

Rhett's mind wandered frantically. This was his entire fault. Scarlett doesn't remember because of him! Good God, what had he done? If he had only kissed her that one night so very long ago when she had visited his mother in Charleston… If he had only told her from the get go that he was her husband… If only if only if only.

She was better off without him. He couldn't stomach the thought of his love destroyed because of him. He had tried everything, and he had failed. It was time. "I'm leaving Scarlett. I'm going back home where I belong. With those rivers in Charleston, with my mother, with my family."

Hurt exploded in Scarlett's chest. How could he after all they had been though? Her emerald eyes hardened at the sight of him and the wall around her heart she had torn down was quickly rebuilt. Her hand let go of his abruptly as she swallowed hard. "Go, then. I'm not stopping you."

Rhett saw her change drastically before his eyes and his heart shattered. It was never meant to be this way. He never wanted to hurt her. Rhett reached out for her, but she cringed at his touch. "Don't touch me. Just go."

"Scarlett please, you don't understand. I never wanted to hurt you! Please let me explain…"

Scarlett squared her shoulders and lifted her chin into the cool, crisp air. "No, Rhett. All I ever wanted was to love you and all I ever wanted was your love in return. I have been so happy here with you and since you came into my life I have been the happiest I have ever been. You were the only family I had. Just go, Rhett. I'm not restraining you."

"Let me explain, Scarlett!"

"No." She answered defiantly, "Some things are better left unanswered."

A/N- Hi! I know I havent uploaded in over a year and a half, but I am so tired with this story, hence this horrible chapter...

but I figured I had half of this chapter sitting in my documents for months on end and I had better finish it no matter how much it stunk.

Please read and review!

-eternal rose 45


	30. The Past is Another Land

**Chapter Thirty**

She was alone. There was no sound resonating through the house. It was silent- eerily so. She had told him to leave, it was for the best. How could she trust him? It seemed that he knew everything about her, and yet she knew nothing of him. He was always aloof and rarely gave her a glimpse into his past. How could she allow him the liberty of her conscious mind when he never returned the favor? It was always smiles and little jests, but she wanted more than that.

Ever since Rhett Kinnicut had come into her life, she had been nothing but happy. A giddy little girl who received her first evening dress. She had never remembered being so carefree, and who knows, maybe she wasn't. He knew though. Rhett knew what she was like and who everyone in her past was. He knew and would not tell. It was the game of cat and mouse and she was the feline who sought after a rat who would never squeal.

But dear God how she loved him. His touches caused her skin to catch fire and she craved them. His gentle caresses were her drug and she was addicted. Whenever she could reach out and touch him, she would. She needed to know he was there, that he would always be. Now, however, he was leaving. The touches would be gone. He would no longer push her long, dark hair away from her face or gently squeeze her hand. He would never kiss her forehead and call her, "my pet." No, that was all over. It had to be. It was for the best.

So Scarlett sat alone in her room upon her bed. She lay on her side, back facing the door, rummaging through a small, old chest she had found buried deep in the closet. The chest was an escape. She couldn't take hearing the draws opening and closing down the hall. She couldn't think about Rhett packing up his bag and leaving even though it was by her own words. It hurt too much; she would have to think about it tomorrow.

Scarlett concentrated hard on the little brown chest. It was smooth and weathered as if it had been opened many times. It was made of mahogany and had two little golden buckles to open it. Scarlett let her fingers travel over the cold metal taking in a deep breath. The chest calmed her even though she had not an idea as to what was in it. Gently Scarlett flipped the buckles upward to allow her access to whatever treasure was within, but upon opening the trunk she was only confronted with more questions.

There where portraits and silly little odds and ends strewn across the bottom of the trunk. There was an assorted array of jewelry that lined the bottom of the coffer- beautiful jewelry and all of it emerald. There was a golden chain with a large, almost ostentatiously huge, emerald pendant surrounded with small, glimmering diamonds. Scarlett picked it up gently and held it up to the light on her bedside table. Oh my how it shown. It cast small green-tinted rainbows against the wall which made Scarlett gasp in pleasure. There were exquisite diamond necklaces and bracelets made of gold, but the most beautiful piece by far was a large emerald ring. Like the pendant, there was a large emerald surrounded by many diamond studs and it was set in pure gold. It was absolutely gorgeous. Scarlett slipped it onto her finger and smiled sadly. It was beautiful. If only she knew where she had gotten it and why it was buried deep in a truck somewhere in an old closet. Scarlett held up her hand and admired the ring. She had slipped it on her right ring finger. It seemed only fitting since it only fit on her ring fingers and since she wasn't engaged, the right would have to do. She silently thanked whoever gave it to her, for it was stunning.

Scarlett turned her attention back to the trunk. There were a few portraits tucked neatly in the corner, all facing the side on the side. Gently she plucked them from the side and began shifting through them. There were two little children and her. Scarlett was holding a baby Ella in her arms as Wade Hampton stood obediently at her feet. Scarlett noticed how stoic they all looked. She looked at her young face portrayed in the small photo and wondered how old she was. She looked extremely young and very uninterested in the children. It looked as if it were almost a burden holding the small bundle in her arms.

Quickly she switched to a new picture. It was a young child staring upward smiling brightly- an innocent smile and one Scarlett knew very well. It was her baby Bonnie. Scarlett smiled and it brought tears to her eyes. Her baby was dazzling. Bonnie had her long curls tied up in a ribbon and out of her face. She was missing her two front teeth and she was beaming from ear to ear. Gently Scarlett placed the photo on her lap and continued on. The next few were of individuals she did not recognize. There was a family portrait, she presumed, that contained her mother, father and two sisters. In the next one, two elderly women sat side by side, their faces nearly identical. Scarlett could recall neither and continued until she came across the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes upon.

Scarlett placed all the other representations aside and stared unabashed into the eyes in the likeness. He was so remarkable that he took her breath away. It was a young boy. His hair was cut short and his eyes were filled with mirth even though he was not smiling. There was a coy twitch to his mouth that was so minute but it was undeniably prominent. His cheeks dimpled ever-so-slightly and one eyebrow was raised as if he were questioning the world. Never before had she seen a man so beautiful and never before had she wished so hard she knew this man. She sighed and caressed the man's papery cheek. "I wish you could speak," Scarlett whispered to the photograph, "I wish you could tell me your name; what you were thinking."

There was a soft knock on the door, "Scarlett?" It was Rhett. Her body stiffened slightly, but she did not answer him. She could not tear her eyes away from this man.

There was silence, one in which neither Scarlett nor Rhett dared to break. She could hear the rustling of his coat from outside the door as he folded it over his arm and gently turned the door handle. He saw the outline of her back in the darkness of her room. She was illuminated by the lone candle on her bedside table. Slowly he took a step forward, and when he was not rejected he made his way cautiously to her.

There was a trunk at her feet and she was holding a photograph of some sort. He could not make himself look at it. What if it were Ashley? He couldn't handle it, not after all these years. "Scarlett? I…"

"Do you know who this is?" Scarlett asked, cutting him off. She held the picture up to him and, closing his eyes and praying; he reached out and studied the face.

Rhett's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He was staring at a photo of himself back when he was very young. "Where did you find this?" He instantly regretted.

"In this trunk." She said quietly motioning to the mahogany trunk at her feet, and without waiting for an answer she reached out with her right hand and seized a corner of the picture before Rhett nearly fainted. On her right hand was the engagement ring he had given her all those years ago. His heart stopped beating as he dropped the likeness and grabbed her hand harder than expected.

"Scarlett…" His eyes were filling with tears, but of course she had no idea as to what was going on.

Her eyes grew dark and realization set in. He was still here and he was touching her. This could not be. His bags were at his feet and his jacket lay next to him, but he was clutching onto her hand. No. No no no no no. He had to go. She jerked her hand away from his burning touch, "Why are you still here?" She whispered, angry. Couldn't he see she didn't want him there? Couldn't he see she couldn't live without him?

He stiffened.

She wanted him out- now. How could he leave her? How could he stay? He wanted her so desperately, but he wanted her happiness. If she wanted him gone, he would oblige but he would always love her. Always. "I came to say goodbye." He whispered, pushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

Tears were filling her eyes and Scarlett's resolve was breaking. He was so close. She could smell his scent: brandy, cigars, and musk- a scent that belonged only to him. She wished so dreadfully that she could throw herself into his embrace and stay there forever, but it had to be this way. She needed truth and if he couldn't provide her with it, she would have to seek elsewhere. Turning away from him, she whispered in a broken, quivering voice, "Just go."

Thunder boomed loudly outside as Rhett's limbs refused to respond. He sat next to her on her bed willing himself to move. He was fighting his own tears and his eyes were stinging painfully. This was killing him. She needed him. Who would she turn to? Arlene? She didn't even know Scarlett. She wasn't passionately in love with the woman.

Hundreds of emotions ran through his head. He wanted to leave. He wanted to stay. He wanted to love. He wanted to obey. His heart was shattering in his breast as he reached out and took one of her hands that was resting on her lap. He needed to touch her one last time.

She whipped her head around faster than he had ever seen her move. He eyes were red and blurred from her tears and she was shaking as she screamed, "Go Rhett! Just go and…"

She would never finish her sentence, for before her mind could process what was going on, he had seized her face in his hands and his lips were crushing her own. She could not fight; she could only melt into him. He had not kissed her like his. He had only showered her with little pecks on the cheek, but they were nothing compared to this. His hands traveled from her face to her tiny waist where he pulled her roughly into him. She whimpered against him for she was defenseless. He pressed her close to him and kissed her passionately. She responded, clinging to him, but as quickly as he had kissed her, he was gone and she was alone.

A/N- So it's basically been another year and I wanted to apologize. I have had a lot of goings on in my life and have not had the willpower or drive to finish what I began even though it was nearing the end of its course. I hope you all haven't given up on me. I will finish this story, and soon. Please don't give up on Scarlett and Rhett.

Eternally yours,

Eternal rose 45


	31. Author's Note

To all my readers,

Thank you so much for the continuous support for Against All Odds. After much consideration I've decided to come back to this nearly finished piece. Before I finish it, however, I will be editing and rewriting a lot of it. I'll keep this up long enough so that my readers see it, but it will be reuploaded under a different name, so please look out for it!

Thank you again my lovely, lovely readers.

All my love,

eternal rose 45


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